John Schouten received a kidney transplant
in February, 2006!
 |
Transplant Information |
John Schouten from Florence, NJ is a 49 year old
father of two children and has been married to his wife Esther Schouten for
twenty four (24) years. John and his family is a close-knit bunch and are very
active in the community and their church. Quite recently, John was given the
devastating news that he has End Stage Renal Failure.
The cause of this disease is unknown. He demonstrated no obvious symptoms that alerted him of this illness. However, after receiving a routine examination he was told that he had to be hospitalized and dialyzed immediately due to a poisonous buildup of toxins in his system. John now receives dialysis three days a week with each treatment lasting about four hours a day.
As if the news of his kidney failure was not bad enough, he began to develop clots in his access almost on a weekly basis. What followed next was an unbelievable amount of pain and suffering as a result of the numerous clots that developed. Every time he developed a clot, he had to undergo an operation because the clots can very quickly prove fatal. To date he has had, not less than eight operations to remove the clots and about four operations to repair and/or replace the graft in his forearm and upper arm. His condition has become very serious due to the number of operations he has undergone in such a short period of time.
John is one
of twelve siblings none of which has the same blood type that he has.
Unfortunately neither of his two children or his wife is a match either.
Although John is a Universal Donor (0+) he is not however, a Universal
Recipient. Therefore finding a donor for John has been quite difficult. He has
to be matched with someone having exactly the same blood type. Unlike an
individual who might have an A or B blood type and can receive 0, AB, A or B,
John can only receive 0+ blood types or else he can die.
Throughout his ordeal, John has always remained quite positive. He is a hard working man and a good provider for his family. Even though he is so sick his concentration is on taking care of his family. He said he wants to live long enough to see his daughter who is studying to be a doctor, graduate from college. Can someone make that wish come through? John would have a fighting chance with a live kidney donation. Please help to save his life.
If you are interested in being tested as a potential donor please call John or Esther at:
Home: (609) 499-8187
Work: (609) 562-3208 Cell: (609) 456-9252
Work: (609) 562-4193 Cell: (856) 465-8512
Or send an email to a1estar@yahoo.com
Thanks so much for taking the time to read John's story. If you are not able to make a kidney donation, please share this information with your friends, family and colleagues.
Esther Schouten
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