‘Incredible’: Oregon woman receives second lifesaving kidney from family member

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Susan Posner is recovering after receiving a life-saving gift from her nephew. She got his kidney decades after her brother donated one of his.

“I feel like I have a new lease on life and it’s pretty wonderful,” said Posner.

At 31, Posner moved from Scotland to Canada and later settled in Oregon. But when she got to the PNW, she began feeling sick. 

In 1987, Posner learned she had a kidney disease called glomerulonephritis, affecting her body’s ability to filter her blood. Doctors told her she needed a kidney transplant, or she would die without dialysis, which can be very hard on the body. That’s when her younger brother, Ian Hawker, jumped into action, flying from Scotland to save her life.

“I got some good news for you, I can donate that kidney, and there was silence in the phone and I said ‘no seriously.’ The doctor did say that there’s not a problem with it,” said Hawker.

That kidney lasted in Posner’s body longer than doctors predicted, but 34 years later, when she needed a new one, her nephew, David, followed in his father’s steps.

“It wasn’t ‘Oh, oh who is doing it?’ It was just me (saying) ‘Let’s go, let’s go now,'” said David. 

“That gift given to Susan was a lifesaver. That’s what it was. To see my son step up and do it. And it’s incredible. And it gets Susan, hopefully, extended life,” added Hawker.

“I don’t know what you say to someone who has given up a kidney. And to save my life, you have to question the value of your life and have someone so willing to do that. It’s pretty incredible,” said Posner. 

David is walking away with a much smaller scar than his father’s. That’s because of updated tools allowing surgeons to use a robot-assisted laparoscopy procedure.

“Which allows us to do the same exact operation and much more safely for donors,” said Oren Shaked M.D., Assistant Professor Of Surgery, Abdominal Organ Transplantation at OHSU.

“You don’t have to cut through really almost anything,” Shaked said. “You just have to separate structures. It’s certainly less traumatic for the person receiving the surgery, and recovery can be much quicker.”

Posner shared what she said to her nephew before they went under the knife at OHSU.

“You know, Scottish people don’t always tell each other that they love each other, but I think that was probably my last word to David that, you know, really love him,” said Posner.

“You get described as a hero, but I struggle with that aspect because it’s almost like your duty to step up because it’s family,” said Hawker.