Sharon Phelan will be giving her son a kidney at the end of June 2022 after the nerve-wracking wait to find out if she was a match.
Stanger, South Africa (11 May 2022) – Sharon Phelan was delighted when the doctor called to tell her she was a donor match for her son Shaun. After watching her husband go into kidney failure just two years earlier, being able to save her son from kidney failure has been a miracle for the whole family.
Sharon’s husband, Shaun Snr, was a healthy, happy and generous man, but he developed diabetes and had his health fade over time. He eventually went into kidney failure and, due to his ill health, didn’t qualify for a transplant. Shaun Snr. lost his battle on the 5th of October 2021.
Reeling from the loss, the family were devastated when they learned that Shaun Jnr had also developed a kidney problem.
“A year ago I was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and I need a kidney transplant. I only have 4% kidney function. I am currently working as an electrical apprentice but due to me having to go for dialysis for 6 hours at a time, 3 times a week. I can’t work my full hours and therefore I am not earning a full salary.”
Shaun is currently living on dialysis, going in three times a week for six hours at a time. Sharon put her hand up to be a donor when talks moved toward transplant options.
The odds are 50-50 when it comes to being a match. Sharon underwent blood type, crossmatch, and HLA testing (tissue typing). They held their breath as they waited for the call, and thankfully, Sharon was Shaun’s perfect match!
“I am really happy that I am a match for my son as this means that he can get the transplant sooner and not have to wait for a match to be found. I hope that the transplant is a success so that he can carry on and live his dream and he is not held back as he is at the moment” – says Sharon
While Shaun has taken a knock with his ability to work, he was able to keep his medical aid, and they are going to cover a great deal of the transplant costs. However, there are shortfalls, and Shaun created a crowdfund on BackaBuddy in the hopes of making up those shortfalls while he is on limited work hours.
They are hoping to raise R200,000.00, which will cover the medical aid shortfall as well as all Shaun’s expenses while he is away from work. They started raising funds when Shaun got his diagnosis in 2020, but with the surgery around the corner, they hope to get the bulk of the funds raised in time. Shaun is scheduled to undergo his kidney transplant at Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital on 23 June 2022.
Since the campaign’s launch, over R64 000 has been raised with kind contributions from 43 donors.
“The kind donations and words of support we have received as a family have been our lifeboat. We have faced many hardships in the last 2 years, most recently having to evacuate our home due to the floods in Durban. But we have hope and faith that with Shaun’s transplant, our luck will begin to change”
You can support Shaun and Sharon via the BackaBuddy fund here. If you cannot donate financially, consider signing up to become an organ donor. You can save seven lives and help 50 people by becoming an organ donor. Register with the Organ Donor Foundation here.
by 