'The gift I can't ever repay': Highlighting the impact of organ donation

Living Donor Week highlights the impact of organ donation. Dianna Havin, who anonymously donated her kidney to Linda Keehn in 2021 joined CTV Morning Live’s Kent Morrison for their story.

 

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

 

Kent Morrison: We are celebrating those who sacrificed part of themselves to help another, and we're showing the power of organ donation. Let me introduce you, Diana and Linda. Diana anonymously donated her kidney in 2021. It is now inside Linda, and their connection is incredible.

So Diana, let's start off with your donation, which you did anonymously to begin with. What led you to meeting Linda?

Dianna Havin: After you donate, you're given the opportunity to write letters, and if both parties are interested, and you correspond for a year, then you can be offered the opportunity to meet. That's what we did. We exchanged our letters, and we were both very interested, and we were offered a chance to meet. It was via Zoom, because it was toward the end of the pandemic and here we are.

Kent: Here we are. So, Linda, you get this incredible gesture of kindness from a stranger at the time, and then you get the letter. What was that like for you?

Linda Keehn: It was very exciting. I knew that I was going to receive a kidney because my son in law, Mike, had wanted to be part of my recovery process and offered his kidney to me. He was not a match to me, but he joined the paired donor exchange program, and through that gift of Mike’s, I was able to receive a good match for me, which was the kidney that came from Diana. So I have two heroes in my life, and it was a match made in heaven.

Kent: You have your hero right here, and once you meet, you find out you have a lot in common.

Dianna: We do. We both went to the Royal Alec. We graduated as nurses. We spent the bulk of our careers in the O.R. (Operating Room), we're a pair of tea drinkers. We have grandkids, we quilt and we do puzzles. It's great. We just hit it off.

Kent: What has that been like for you, to earn a friend out of this as well?

Linda: Oh, it's been life changing. I get up in the mornings now, I'm healthy, I'm happy, I'm motivated. I'm able to go back to being a nurturing person. I've got the time and the energy to do things that, while I was on dialysis, I simply couldn't do. So it's just giving me back my life, (it's) the gift I can't ever repay and I'm so grateful.

Kent: Absolutely. What does it feel like for you (Dianna)? Because you did this because of your background in nursing, but to be able to meet her and have this connection knowing what you gave to her. How does that feel to you?

Dianna: It's just an extra blessing. I knew I wanted to give a kidney because I wanted to help someone. Anyone was more than welcome to it, but to find a friendship as well was just icing on the cake.

Kent: What would you say to someone who may be considering such a thing, or maybe hasn't considered it at all until they see this bond that can be created.

Dianna: I'd say there's many ways to help with living donations. So you can sign your donor card and talk about your wishes, and you can be part of a fundraiser or you can look into becoming a donor.

It's a bit of a long process, but it's not difficult, and any challenges, they're far outweighed by the good and the blessing that comes with being a donor and doing something like that for someone, whether you know them or not.

Kent: We're seeing the blessing right here in front of us. This week is Living Donor Week, if you're inspired like I am, you can visit the website givelifealberta.ca to find out more information.