Friends Beat Odds With Lifesaving Organ Transplant

by Meg Coker

A four inch scar runs across the left side of her lower abdomen. In time, the purplish hue will fade and the muscle will shrink back into place. But even if it becomes a permanent mark, Amy Thornton doesn't seem to mind. For her, the scar is a shining symbol, a medal of honor for a precious gift she recently gave to a friend - the gift of life.

After discovering that she was an ideal match, Thornton, daughter of Alice Ann and the late Jerry Thornton of Tunica, opted to donate a kidney to save the life of friend and colleague, Allen Cooper.

Cooper was diagnosed with testicular carcinoma in 1988 and had been on dialysis since October 2002. After enduring dialysis for a few months, Cooper said the search began for a kidney donor within his family.

Cooper's sister went through testing to attempt to give him one of her kidneys. Unfortunately, she could not pass a 24 hour blood pressure test either of the two times she took it. Thus, she was deemed an unsuitable candidate for donation.

After hearing the discouraging news, Thornton said she began to search her soul.

"I found out I was the right blood type, but I wanted to talk about it with my Mom " Thornton said. "I talked it over with her and she said she didn't have a problem with it, to go for it."

And go for it, she did.

Her next step was a trip the hospital to undergo two days of rigorous testing.

"They put me through the ringer from head to toe," Thornton joked. "No really, it was all out-patient. It was not all that bad and none of it was painful."

The necessary procedures included a chest X-ray, EKG, nuclear kidney test, cat scan and other screenings to ensure compatibility. She had no idea what results the tests would yield, but she crossed her fingers.

Within a matter of days, Thornton said she got a phone call.

"They called me back and said 'Guess what, you're a match'," Thornton said. "Actually, I was a better match tissue wise than his sister."

In the blink of an eye, Thornton checked into UT Bowld Hospital in downtown Memphis to undergo surgery. At the hospital, she found herself among the elite. Only 10 out of 55 organ donations come from live donors.

Thornton said this statistic is shocking, considering the procedure's simplicity.

"They don't cut you in half like they used to," Thornton said. "Within three days, I was out of the hospital. Within three weeks, I was 100 percent better. My doctor told me in two weeks, I could go back to my normal lifestyle. I had no problems. There was a little soreness for a week or 10 days. Not even really a soreness, just a little tightness."

Thornton said not only is the recovery time short, but the operation itself went quickly.

"During the surgery, they had me in one operating room and Allen right down the hall. As soon as they removed my kidney, the team took it straight to him. They really went down the hall and delivered it on a silver platter," Thornton said.

From that moment on, Cooper said his life changed.

He takes a series of medications to ensure that his body won't reject the kidney and is functioning properly.

"It's a bunch (of medicine), but some I have been taking for years. I do have some side effects from all the medication, like tremors," Cooper said. "I stay so tired that I have to take at least one nap a day or sometimes two. If not, I'd already be back at work."

The relationship between he and Thornton has also changed.

"We were good friends before but the bond is even stronger now," Thornton said.

"Oh absolutely," Cooper agreed. It's just such a blessing and I know God will have a special place for Amy."

In a single act, Thornton helped her friend beat the statistics. According to Cooper, there are over 50,000 people put on a waiting list for transplants every year. Finding a suitable donor can take months or even years. Knowing this, Thornton wants to encourage everyone who is thinking of becoming an organ donor to "just do it."

"The feeling you have is incredible," Thornton said, citing the fact that people can function normally with just one kidney. "You can help someone else because they are doing surgeries for liver, lung and pancreas using live donor tissue. I'd certainly be glad to talk to anyone who is thinking about this."

Amy Thornton has a four inch scar across her lower abdomen, but the smile on her face is a mile wide. It's obvious she doesn't see the scar as just a mark on her body. It's a shining symbol and a constant remainder that her friend, Allen Cooper, can live.

Meg is a graduate of Delta State University, where she majored in journalism. She served as editor of the Delta Statement for two years and was a member of Phi Mu Fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa.She is a newlywed and now lives in Walls, MS.

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This article posted June 14, 2003.