Review
InTouch Book Review: July 1997 This book is a superb resource for those families considering living organ donation. It is ideal for the non-clinical reader, especially for the patient awaiting a living-related transplant. It is also a good teaching tool for the patients undergoing work-ups as living-related donors (LRD). She [the author] describes the living donation process and all that it entails.
Ms. Chabot-Long discusses the risks, fears, and hopes of one who has actually experienced this tribulation. She delves into the many spiritual and emotional self-scrutinies one must explore before deciding to donate a kidney to a loved one. She describes in great detail the factors involved in making the decision to donate her kidney. She discusses not only what it meant for herself, but her spouse and children as well.
For the patient weighing the options of dialysis versus transplant, this book clearly spells out the differences in quality of life for both methods. It is made clear that dialysis doesn t really cure kidney failure. It's a way to treat it.... The only thing that really cures it is a successful transplant. She also poignantly explains what the recipient should expect after transplant, that is, the side effects of immunosuppressants, the anti-rejection drugs, and strict diet regimen to be followed.
She expands on the ethical dilemma of the concept of living related donations: that is, the question of taking an organ from a perfectly healthy individual and transplanting it into an individual who is extremely ill, or who may even die.
Her resources are valid and well-founded with accurate details that provide valuable information and insight. This is a very accurate portrayal of the living donor process and how it affects the entire family. It is a wonderful tool for anyone facing these life decisions. -- NATCO (North American Transplant Coordinators Organization)
A Gift of Life is insightful, moving, a personal, intimate, compelling report. It is a valuable resource that will go a long way in understanding the difficult issues of organ donation. -- Meg Black, Director of Communications, UNOS-United Network for Organ Sharing: 1996
It is with great pleasure that I introduce a new resource to you, your affiliate staff and to the patients that you serve.... Lynn Chabot-Long has written a book describing her experiences as a living-related donor.
I know our office gets calls weekly from potential donors and recipients all with some of the same questions. Looking for information, not even sure what questions to ask. The decisions these individuals have to make impact lives in all kinds of ways. This book will help any reader understand not only the information, but also the emotion of living-related donation.
I would recommend that A Gift of Life become a permanent part of your Affiliate's library and offered as a resource for those individuals considering a living-related transplant. It has been a welcome addition to our information sharing network. -- Cindy Huber, Executive Director, National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin, in an open letter to her affiliates: 1996
The book [A Gift of Life: A Page From the Life of A Living Organ Donor] is a magnificent effort and very well describes for prospective donors the process that [Lynn] went through.
This ultimately is a very important publication because cadaver donors are in very short supply and living-related donors continue to be very much needed. -- Dr. David T. Uehling, Professor of Surgery, Chairman, Division of Urology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School: Book Review 1996
From the Back Cover
A Gift of Life would seem to be a wonderful resource for transplant candidates considering donation and living donors and their recipients who have shred this experience.(Margaret B. Coolican, RN, MS; Chair National Donor Family Council, New York, NY)
Ordinary people doing extraordinary thins is at the heart of A Gift of Life. This story is an honest,no holds barred account of one family's courageous fight against kidney failure through Living Organ Donation. Written in a clear fashion, this story documents a family's journey to return one of their own to good health. All dramas have their heroes and in this story there are many. Traditionally in the exciting world of organ transplantation, attention has focused on the caregivers, the surgeons, and physicians. But those of us involved in this field, consider the organ donors and the recipients of organ transplants as the real heroes. A Gift of Life will provide valuable insight and information for all those facing the spectre of kidney disease or considering organ donation.(Allan Roza, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery Department of Transplant Surgery Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Lynn Chabot-Long has written a very honest and realistic portrayal of the living-related donor process and its effect on an entire family. This book will be a useful tool for any family who is facing end-stage renal disease and consideration of living-related kidney donation.(Hans W. Sollinger, MD, PhD; Chairman Division of Organ Transplantation University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin)
