A Mother-Son Bond: Now Closer Than Ever After Kidney Transplant

When Jason Houck saw his mother’s number pop up on his phone on his drive home from work, he knew something was wrong. When he answered the call, his mother was crying. He could hear the emotion in her voice.

“My kidneys are failing,” he remembers her telling him with a shaky voice.

He replied, not missing a beat, “Well, I have two,” he said. “You can have one of mine.”

“She gave me life. It’s the least I could do,” he joked.

Throughout Jason’s life, he’s been called to serve others. He learned compassion from his parents. His mother was a nurse and his father was a teacher. From an early age, Jason saw his parents care tirelessly for others and serve their community. He wanted to follow in their footsteps. Today, he is a sergeant for the King County Sheriff’s Office. He says his favorite part of his job is helping others and bringing joy to people in need.

This also rings true in his personal life. His choice to donate his kidney to his mother came without hesitation.

Without a kidney transplant, Cindy would need to be on dialysis for the rest of her life.

As kidney transplant candidates are approaching their operation, their kidneys are functioning very poorly or not at all.

“Patients experience extreme fatigue, often have nausea, aren't able to eat as much, and their general level of activity and energy is much poorer,” said Christian Kuhr, MD, Surgical Director of Transplantation at Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC). “Dialysis is really a difficult road, but it's the only road if there's not a kidney transplant available. Patients are usually spending four to six hours, three times a week, in a dialysis center. It really restricts their mobility, their ability to travel and their ability to do the things that they love.”

People who need a kidney transplant have two options. They can either receive a kidney from a living donor or wait for an organ from a deceased donor.

Today, in the U.S., there are 90,000 patients across the U.S. waiting for a kidney transplant. Without a living donor, it’s likely Cindy would have waited years for a kidney. The average wait time is around six years.

“I wanted her to have the best life possible,” said Jason.

 
Jason went through rigorous testing at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) to determine if he could be a donor. He was in excellent physical condition, and the team at VMFH had good news. He was a match.

“What makes me passionate about my work are the patients that I get to work with,” said Nick Cowan, MD, transplant surgeon at Virginia Mason Medical Center. “It is a privilege to be able to enter their lives at a very vulnerable time and help them make a life-changing health improvement through transplant. The goals of our program here at VMMC are really to help each patient make the best choice that they can make to improve their quality of life and duration of life.”

Jason said the process to become a donor was seamless thanks to the transplant team at VMFH. When it came time for the surgery, he felt prepared and reassured. He knew he was in good hands.

“I was amazed at how quickly I recovered,” said Jason.

But more surprising for him was seeing his mother light up again. After a successful surgery, Jason walked across the hall at VMMC to check on her. Before the surgery, she was weak and pale. When he saw her after surgery, she was smiling and the color had returned to her cheeks.

Jason said it was all worth it.