Former Lampasan Marion Lamantia recently donated a kidney to her brother, Doug Smith of Lampasas, to help him avoid dialysis treatment. The siblings are completing their recoveries from surgery without major complications, and Smith’s kidney function has returned almost to normal. PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Marion Lamantia will give anything to help her brother -- and proved her commitment recently.

The former Lampasan, now a resident of Huldenberg, Belgium, donated a kidney last month to her older brother, Lampasas resident Doug Smith. The siblings are recovering well, and Smith hopes his new organ will enable him to avoid dialysis treatment.

Smith, who has type 2 diabetes, began having serious health problems about two and a half years ago. Early in 2008, diabetic complications caused blindness in his eyes. Smith has had six eye surgeries since then — with more operations likely — and last year regained enough vision in his left eye to resume driving.

He also learned about two years ago that he had congestive heart failure and kidney problems. When the condition of his kidneys deteriorated last year, doctors inserted a fistula into Smith’s right forearm to connect an artery and a vein in preparation for dialysis.

Smith strongly hoped to avoid that treatment, however, as he may have needed as many as three dialysis sessions a week, each three to five hours long, to clean and circulate his blood properly.

“It’s hard on your body,” Smith said.

Unless a family member donated a kidney, however, the local resident faced as much as a four-year wait on an organ donation list. Although three siblings were ineligible to give Smith a kidney, Mrs. Lamantia never hesitated when she received her brother’s request by e-mail.

Mrs. Lamantia traveled to Texas for a few days last summer and underwent tests at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. Smith’s doctor later referred him to Dr. Richard Lewis, medical director of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center’s Renal Transplant Center. Lewis performed a physical on Smith and administered a stress test, which indicated the Lampasan could receive a kidney.

Smith phoned his sister near the end of April, and she and her husband made arrangements for her to travel overseas for the donation. Mrs. Lamantia booked a flight the same night her brother called, and she arrived in Texas the next day.

She completed a battery of tests before returning to Belgium. Mrs. Lamantia then traveled back to Texas May 30 to prepare for surgery about a week later.

The extensive screenings, along with the two transplant coordinators who prepared the siblings for the organ donation, helped Mrs. Lamantia overcome nervousness.

“They took it real step by step with what’s going to happen,” Mrs. Lamantia said of the medical staff involved in the transplant. “They really took the fear out.”

Although she never had broken a bone, had surgery or stayed overnight in a hospital, Mrs. Lamantia did not let uncertainty about the surgical process deter her from helping her brother.

“I just put those [thoughts] in the back of my mind and went forward with it,” she said of the donation.

The medical staff who treated Smith and Mrs. Lamantia included post-transplant coordinators assigned to each patient. The siblings also received a list of phone numbers to call in case any complications developed as a result of surgery.

A donor’s body can function fine with just one kidney, Mrs. Lamantia said. The recipient, however, faces some risk of organ rejection.

“Even though we’re compatible, anything could have happened,” Smith said.

He and his sister avoided significant complications, however, and both were released from the North Austin hospital within a week.

To prevent his body from attack- ing the new kidney, Smith must take immunosuppresant drugs for as long as he has the organ — which he hopes will be 20 years or so. Because the medication weakens his immune system, Smith must wash his hands frequently and avoid illness as much as possible.

He also takes blood pressure medicine and remains on a low-sodium diet. In addition, Smith monitors his blood sugar, weight, and fluid intake and outflow. He must avoid gaining more than three pounds in a 24-hour period.

Mrs. Lamantia, who recently flew back to her home in Europe, did not have to follow a special diet before or after her surgery. She does try to stay fit, however, as weight gain after her organ donation could result in high blood pressure or cause her to develop diabetes — which would stress her kidney.

Smith’s kidney function has returned almost to normal, and he enjoys much more energy than he had before his recent operation.

“Overall I just feel better,” he said.

Although he hopes to hold a steady job, Smith remains unable to work. At the same time, he is looking for a supplemental health benefits plan to pay for kidney-related medical expenses that Medicare does not cover.

He has benefitted, however, from assistance offered by a number of Lampasas County residents.

Smith and his sister thanked Charlie and Carolyn Brown, and Bob and Carrol Wright for raising funds to assist with Smith’s medical bills. Several area churches donated, and an account, in care of Douglas Smith, has been opened at First State Bank of Burnet to help defray medical expenses.

“The way they came together immediately to help was wonderful,” Mrs. Lamantia said of those who donated money for her brother. “It reminds you how wonderful being part of a small town is. It gives you a feeling of the true Christian spirit.”

Mrs. Lamantia added that she appreciated her husband flying in to stay at the hospital during her surgery and recovery. She and her brother also thanked their transplant coordinators, who often visited their recovery rooms after normal working hours and phoned to check on the patients’ progress.

“They really went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable,” Smith said of the surgery and transplant oversight staff.

Saved from dialysis as long as his new kidney functions properly, Smith appreciates his opportunity to resume a normal life. Just 15 months older than his sister, Smith said the siblings have enjoyed a close relationship despite their separation across the Atlantic.

“We get together and joke and act silly just like we did when we were teenagers,” Mrs. Lamantia added.

Now with a stronger connection than ever, the siblings look forward to seeing each other again soon — hopefully not in a hospital the next time.