Minnesota Custodian Receives Gift of Life

Being an organ donor is a gift of life to another individual who may be a loved one, a friend, or a complete stranger. For a Kimball, Minnesota school custodian it was a gift that keeps on giving from a co-worker as he received a kidney from a teacher, the St. Cloud Times reports.

Patrick Mertens, a school custodian at Kimball Elementary School, learned in 2003 that he had high creatinine levels indicating his kidneys “were bad,” according to the St. Cloud Times. In 2017, Mertens’ kidneys began failing, and he had to leave work early three days a week to undergo dialysis. The teachers at the school learned about his condition and decided to raise money for transportation costs to St. Cloud, Minnesota—where Mertens received treatment.

Mertens needed a kidney transplant, but he faced a five to seven year wait for a deceased kidney donor. His daughter posted her father’s dilemma on Facebook, explaining that none of their relatives were compatible. That is when Erin Durga, a third-grade teacher at the school, stepped up and offered one of her kidneys.

Durga exchanged small talk with Mertens whenever he stopped by her classroom. “Pat is a wonderful person, and I can’t imagine him not being around,” Durga said.

Mertens called Durga “an angel” and said although he is not much of a hugger or good at expressing himself, he had to hug her.

“It brought a few tears to my eyes. She was giving me her kidney. It’s quite the honor that someone would give you their kidney. You will appreciate them for the rest of your life. She’s just a wonderful woman,” he said, adding, “I can live again.”

According to the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration’s (HRSA) Organ Donation Statistics website, thousands of Americans are on the national transplant waiting list—109,000 to be exact as of September 2020. More than 95,000 people a year wait for a kidney transplant, according to the St. Cloud Times.