Stranger gives up kidney

Photo: Al Mansfield

Dorothy, left, and Noreen, who offered a kidney before they had even met.

Al Mansfield and his wife Dorothy have a had a run of bad luck. 

His business, the local Penticton White Spot, burned down seven years ago, and his home also succumbed to a blaze this past fall. 

On top of all that, his wife has end-stage kidney disease, and has been forced to rely on dialysis to survive since September. 

But the Mansfields' luck isn't all bad. An act of kindness from a stranger has them keeping faith in the universe. 

"About two years ago, we were searching for a kidney donor. A living donor has a much higher chance of success," Mansfield said, adding that since his wife has B+ blood and he has A, he was not able to donate himself.

"I was talking to one of the tellers at CIBC in Penticton, that things were getting serious with my wife, and another teller overheard our conversation. And she just said 'I'd be willing to give a kidney.'"

The woman, whose name is Noreen and will be speaking with Castanet following the surgery, had her blood type checked, and despite B+ being a fairly rare type in Canada, she was a match. 

"My mouth just dropped," Mansfield said. "You don't even know my wife, and you'd be willing to do that? It's inspirational, really, to know that there's people out there that really care."

Mansfield, his wife and the donor are now in Vancouver, with surgery scheduled on Wednesday. Unfortunately, though, the family isn't out of the woods yet. Though Berger's disease, which is what Dorothy has, isn't usually hereditary, their son has been suffering from the same disease for over a decade. 

In recent months, his condition deteriorated, putting him at the end stage of the disease as well. 

"He's got some testing to do, the hospital made a mistake in the blood testing so we're waiting to find out exactly what type we need," Mansfield said. "I'm hoping it's an A because that's me, and that would make everything a lot easier, but if not we'll be looking for other options." 

Castanet will follow up when results come in, in case a kidney is needed. Mansfield hopes his family's story will inspire more people to become living donors. 

"If the word gets out there more, and people understand it more, they are more likely to give up a kidney. There's very little risk in giving up a kidney," Mansfield said. "In a small community like Penticton, I think it would be nice to let others know how unselfish people can be."