Kidney Donor Speaks Out
by Sybil Maimin

“It was the right thing to do. People have to help each other, and it was a way to improve someone's life.” With these simple words, David Koster explains why he donated his kidney to a stranger. In 2002, Koster read a newspaper ad for a kidney and realized there was a need that he, a healthy man in his fifties, could respond to. He answered the ad and learned that he did not have the right blood type. Determined to help someone, he responded to two more ads and on the third try, learned that his blood was compatible with that of a man in San Francisco whose Long Island son had placed a notice for the organ in a New York paper. Koster's four grown sons were okay with his plan although some friends thought he was crazy; he won them over. The prospective recipient, whom he met before the operation, told him, “You can't imagine how I look at you.” A possible hurdle was the Ethics Committee at Westchester Medical Center, where the surgery was performed. They interrogated him to determine his motives and ensure that no money was being exchanged (It was not). The committee approved his plan and in a 3-hour laparoscopic procedure, surgeon Dr. Michael Edey removed his kidney, which was then implanted in the needy recipient. Koster's recovery was quick and uneventful. He suffered little pain and was back at work after a week and a half.

David Koster describes the experience as “fantastic.” “It has given me a new lease on life, and the only problem is I don't have 50 kidneys.” He advises, “If people knew what is going on in my mind, they would all rush to do this.” An average of 2 kidney transplants a week (between relatives) is performed at Westchester Medical, but he was the first person to donate the organ to a stranger. He is very enthusiastic about this opportunity to give life-saving help to a fellow human being and encourages others to do what he did. He still answers ads from people looking for kidneys to give them encouragement and to speak from experience to those who are considering becoming donors. He has spoken at seminars on the subject at Westchester Medical Center where he points out, “the benefits far outweigh the risks.” His rewards have been unexpected and manifold. “I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this,” he explains. “Before the operation, I had one sister. Now I have two additional brothers and a sister (the recipient's children).” He attended a social function with the recipient's family where “I was a celebrity,” he says incredulously. And best of all, the new kidney (his old one) “is functioning well.”#

David Koster is “eager to talk to anyone” needing a kidney or considering becoming a donor. He can be reached by phone at 718-854-7789; or e-mail, dhk613@aol.com.