We have continued to spread Maria’s story through Facebook, emails, this website, and Twitter. We have had more people tweeting who have large followings, and as of this past Monday, Mass General had 8 more people starting the testing process!! Some local friends coordinated a booth at our Girls Vasity Soccer game last night and will also be running a booth at the HPTA Carnival. Flyers about Maria’s story are being distributed as well as material on organ donation. We are so thankful for the outpouring of love and support.

Maria continues to struggle on dialysis days with headaches, leg pain, exhaustion, muscle weakness, and a buzzing sensation throughout her body. Not easy!! The efforts being made by everyone has kept her spirits high and she is very hopeful that a good match will be found. Thank you all!

Hello all,
We have had a huge increase in followers so using todays post to give new comers a backround story on Maria.

Maria has been married to Bill for 21 years and together they have two children, Alex, 16 and Morgan, 13. Maria is an artist who loves to cook, travel, and spend time with her family and friends.

Maria was diagnosed with Type 1 (Juvenile) diabetes on her 10th birthday. After many years with the disease, her native kidneys failed and she received a kidney from her father on March 15, 1994. (18 years ago). This transplanted kidney has now failed, and Maria is in need of another transplant. She is currently undergoing dialysis treatments 3 days a week – she remains otherwise healthy, but we know dialysis will speed up her diabetes complications and put her at more risk for heart disease, amputation, and other health issues.

Maria has been on the top of the kidney/pancreas list since June 2011 (this would be from a deceased donor). Since starting dialysis, her body is rejecting her father’s kidney and producing more antibodies. These antibodies have now made her sensitized to certain donors – making it difficult to find a match. Her odds of matching a potential donor are 30%, therefore it is now necessary to find a pool of eligible living donors to increase her matching odds.

Mass General Hospital only received 4 kidney/pancreas’ for transplant last year. Each only had a 30% chance of matching Maria, and none did. She was called in on Jan.26, 2012 for a transplant and the donor pancreas could not be used. The kidney alone went to the person at the top of the kidney only list. Maria was called in again on July 1, 2012 and the donor ended up having a positive cross match, which means Maria would reject the transplant. Maria was called in a 3rd time on August 15, 2012. This was a great match, but once again, the pancreas could not be used and the kidney went to the person at the top of the kidney-only list. We now know that it could take a long time for a deceased donor to match Maria..please help spread her story so that a living donor can come forward. Our main goal is to get Maria off dialysis..whichever path gets us there first will be followed.

A good living donor candidate is someone who is healthy, well-informed and makes a voluntary decision to donate one of their kidneys. Living donors must be over 18 and usually under 70 years of age. They must be in good general health, have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 30, a non-smoker, with no evidence of significant high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, heart disease or hepatitis. Living donors can live in any state and it is important to know that all medicals costs are covered by the recipients health insurance. As you might imagine, donating life to another is a remarkable gift that takes a great deal of thought that can only be obtained by being well informed.

Maria’s blood type is A+ and her kidney donor must have an A or O blood type.

Some people have inquired on how to proceed with testing. For anyone interested, please contact:

Mass General Hospital
Donor Intake Coordinator
617-643-7193
Patient: Maria Flannery

Thank you for taking the time to visit and read this page. We hope you will “share” this page with friends and help us spread the word..not only for Maria, but for the thousands who are waiting for the Gift of Life!!

If you would like to be an organ donor and have not registered, please visit: www.donatelife.net, and register today!

Maria had several people testing to be living kidney donors. As of yesterday, she is down to 2 potential donors. All others, (13), were not a match or upon evaluation could not donate. We have been working hard to spread Maria’s story through her Facebook page and Twitter. Yesterday was a successful day with the help of a couple of friends who did some tweeting and made other outreach suggestions. Curt Schilling was one of our Tweeters yesterday, reaching 46,000 followers! We are now on Pinterest and you can re-pin Maria’s board and share with others.

Maria just finished her 20th week on dialysis reaching 200 hours in the dialysis chair. We are so greatful for all the love and support she has received these last few months!

http://pinterest.com/mflan/donate-life/

Maria’s painting, “Radishes” is part of the New England Organ Bank’s Traveling Art Show, now showing in a Brattleboro, VT Hospital lobby. The exhibit includes artwork by donor families and loved ones as well as transplant recipients.

Maria went to dialysis early this morning and was not feeling well when she got home. Monday had been a very difficult day and the two sessions together left her exhausted and with many side effects. She was laying on the couch when the phone rang and it was her Transplant Coordinator at Mass General. Maria thought it was probably just another update on who is being tested, or more paperwork needing to be done..it wasn’t..it was a call that a deceased kidney/pancreas had become available!! She was told that the first cross match was looking good, and to stop eating and drinking incase she ended up in surgery. Two hours later MGH called back and said the first test showed no antibody reaction and to head into the hospital. Bill (Maria’s husband) came home immediately and they headed in. Once there, it was another 2 hours before they found out that the final cross match was NEGATIVE!! (That’s good..no antibody reaction). The transplant surgeon explained that there was one more final hurdle and that was to actually procure the organs and look at them. Another two hours of waiiting..(along with going through routine pre-surgery things like speaking with the anesthesiologist), and then the surgeon came back in. Once in the room he shut the door and Bill and Maria knew immediately something wasn’t good. The surgeon explained that this donor’s liver and pancreas were both unusuable. Once the pancreas is eliminated from the transplant, the kidney goes to ther person at the top of the kidney only wait list. Maria is on the kidney/pancreas wait list. It was very difficult news to handle, but they packed up and headed home. Maria soon was feeling better about the whole thing knowing that she only wants the perfect match and organs to last a life time. To date she has had three calls to transplant that didn’t happen and 10 potential living donors that turned out not to match. Hoping something will come through soon!

Hello all,
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We have been on the Cape enjoying the beautiful weather and I was fortunate enough to get dialysis hours here. We ALMOST had some great news to share this past Sunday but almost wasn’t enough. I received a call from one of the MGH transplant coordinators telling me not to get too excited, but there was a potential kidney pancreas donor for me. They needed to call before the testing was complete because they wanted to find out how far away I was. While final cross matching was done, we told the kids and packed up. Within an hour another call came to say that it was a positive cross-match, meaning positive that my antibodies would react and fight…so, a no-go. Disappointing to say the least and a reminder of how difficult it might be to find a match. This particular donor had similar antibodies to my father which my body has built up antibodies to from his kidney. So, it would not have turned out well. Glad this testing is available! We are now on 2 false alarms…hoping the next is the real deal.
The Facebook page has been helpful from what I understand. MGH cannot give me specifics but they say there have been a “significant” number of calls with questions and interest in testing. This is definitely keeping me going and gives me a lot of hope! They told us to continue asking people to share the page as much as possible so that if none of the current interested people match we are not left without options. Feeling a bit like a broken record asking people to share, but know it’s one of the best ways to get my story out there!
Dialysis is going ok, the same..wiped out on those days but grateful it exists..it’s a love-hate thing! Always hopeful my last session is sooner than I think!
I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying a great summer!
Much love,
Maria

A mentally challenging day as Maria received a call from mass general that a kidney/pancreas donor had become available. Cross matching tests were still in the works as we packed, told kids, and prepared to head into Boston. Less than an hour later the coordinator called to let us know that this donor fell in the 70% of people that Maria is sensitized to and it would be a no-go. This is the second false alarm…. Hoping a perfect match was found somewhere and one less person is on dialysis for good!

Kidney Disease is a silent killer. Maria had a very rough day at dialysis on Monday with nausea, headache, severe leg pain, and exhaustion. Although she looked good yesterday on the outside, the dialysis is taking it’s toll on the inside. Posting two photos, one on an off day, and one after starting dialysis. We want her to look healthy EVERY day before it’s too late! If you have “liked” this page, please take a minute to “share” it on your wall and ask your friends to do the same. You never know who might read it and decide to be tested. THANK YOU to all of you who have shared and continue to share this page..it means the WORLD to us!!

Maria was diagnosed with type 1 juvenile diabetes on her 10th birthday, in 1973. She started having
kidney complications in 1987 and progressed to end-stage renal failure in 1994. Her father donated
one of his kidney’s to her on March 15, 1994. His kidney worked wonderfully for 15 years and then
she started having complications.

Maria was listed with the New England Organ Bank for a kidney/pancreas transplant in the fall
of 2010, and finally had moved to the top of the list in June of 2011. Her father’s kidney was still
functioning at that time although only at 10%. On January 26, 2012, Maria received a call that
a kidney/pancreas donor match had become available. She rushed to Mass General Hospital
and underwent final testing which included a heart angiogram. When the donor’s organs were
procured, the pancreas was found to be unusable. The kidney alone has to go to the person at the
top of the kidney only wait list. Maria was sent home. During the angiogram they did that night,
a 70% blockage was found in her left anterior descending artery, (LAD). Maria was taken off the
wait list for 30 days so that a stent could be placed in the artery and she could take anti-clotting
medication for 4 weeks. Maria was then re-listed at the top of the list.

The dye that is used for angioplasty did some damage to her father’s kidney and it was then
necessary to start dialysis. She started on April 10, 2012. Since that time, her father’s kidney has
started to reject because of the lower immunosuppression. In a fight to reject this foreign organ, her
body has created new antibodies which now make her sensitized to certain donors. She has a 70%
sensitization rate. Her doctors have advised her that it would be best to open doors to all possible
donors. We are sharing Maria’s story with hopes that a living kidney (only) donor may become
available soon. A pancreas transplant can be considered after the kidney should she decide to go
that route. Maria is listed with the New England Organ Bank, although chances of receiving organ’s
this way are slim. Mass General did a total of 4 kidney/pancreas transplants last year.