Mom, 76, gives son, 56, a second chance at life

Jane Hanrahan of Corvallis was determined to donate to solve her son Patrick's kidney problems

May 20, 2004

Patrick O'Neill

Patrick Rasmussen's mother gave him life twice.

The first time was 56 years ago, when he was born. The second was Tuesday when, at age 76, his mother gave him a kidney.

Rasmussen, from Blue River east of Eugene, received the organ in a four-hour operation at OHSU Hospital.

Hospital officials say Jane Hanrahan of Corvallis, Rasmussen's mother, may be the oldest Oregonian to donate a kidney.

Speaking Wednesday from his hospital bed, a groggy Rasmussen searched for words to express his feelings.

"Grateful is the word," he said. "I don't know that I can really express it. It's even hard to realize it."

Rasmussen's health began to fail in 1988 when he was diagnosed with membranous glomerulonephritis, a disease that gradually destroys the kidneys. His health continued to deteriorate until March this year, when he began undergoing kidney dialysis.

Dr. John Barry, head of the OHSU kidney transplantation program since 1976, said he thinks Hanrahan is the program's oldest kidney donor.

Legacy Health System, which also does kidney transplants, has not had donors as old as 76, according to a spokesman.

Doctors at the University of California at San Francisco have reported transplants involving two 78-year-old donors.

Hanrahan "was absolutely determined to donate," Barry said. "She called her son's transplant coordinator and said she wanted to be the donor."

Barry said after he met with her and explained the possible risks of the procedure, "she said she was still going to do it."

Barry predicted that Rasmussen's kidney function will be normal by Friday and that he and his mother will be discharged by Sunday.

Despite the donor's age, the doctor expects that the transplant will last a long time.

He said there is a 97 percent chance that the new kidney will continue working for a year. If it survives for a year, there is a 50 percent chance that it will last for 17 years.

Because of her age, the mother underwent a series of special tests, including a heart stress test and a chest X-ray to look for lung disease.

Barry said both donor and recipient were doing well Wednesday, resting in the same room at OHSU Hospital.

Kidney donations by people over 65 years are relatively rare, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the national organ transplant clearinghouse.

Since 1988, 636 people over age 65 have donated kidneys compared with 28,031 between the ages of 35 and 49.

Rasmussen said his mother is in good physical condition.

"Mom was born in Salt Lake City," he said, and she is a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "I don't think she ever had a vice in her whole life."

Contact Patrick O'Neill at 503-221-8233.

Copyright © 2004 The Oregonian.

This article posted July 17, 2004.