Mom's donated kidney to Gresham son turns 100

GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN) -- Ken Reese remembers how selfless his mother, Doris, was. When he was a high school student 49 years ago, his mom gave him a new lease on life by donating one of her kidneys to him.

"She was actually very selfless. She raised five kids, comes from a Swedish heritage," Ken told KOIN 6 News. "We were always close, but I think it brought us closer. There was a situation in the hospital, right before transplant, where I had asked her, 'Do you really want to do this? Is this OK?' She said, 'Of course!'"

The transplant allowed him to go to college, marry and have a family. As the years went on they stayed close as life with his mom's kidney became even more meaningful.

"We would always call each other on October 6th, my transplant date," he said. "So we would always call each other, talk to each other, go out for dinner."

This day, November 18, Doris would have turned 100 years old. Although she died in 2012 at the age of 88, her kidney is still working well inside Ken.

On average, kidney transplants last 10-15 years. Ken has had his mom's kidney for nearly a half-century.

In recent times Ken has faced different health challenges, including skin cancer.

"The medications you take to hang onto your kidney, the immuno-suppressants, do have a long-term side effect," he said.

But his strength to live comes in part from his mother's kidney and the way she taught him to live.

Doris, he said, was a "strong woman, strong Christian woman, and she was selfless in giving it. She was 50 when she did (give him her kidney) and she passed away at 88, so it didn't really impact her life at all."

Ken Reese has been a longtime supporter of Donate Life Northwest.

"There is a saying I like to use, and that's: 'She's given me life twice.' And that is one of the most important things is I always have a part of her with me, and I want to hang on to that for as long as I can," Ken said. "I just keep plugging along."

If you'd like to learn more about Donate Life Northwest and how to be an organ donor, visit their website for all the details. Perhaps you can help give someone another half-century of life.