‘It’s a whirlwind’: Transplant nurse gets kidney transplant at hospital where she works

Updated: 2:13 PM EST Dec 28, 2022

Heidi Prodoehl might know the inside of Froedtert's transplant center in Milwaukee better than anyone else."I'm just, like, interconnected multiple ways," she told sister station WISN. The West Bend wife and mom of two young kids has been a transplant nurse at Froedtert for more than a decade. But on this particular day in December, she's not the one checking the vitals; she's a patient, bringing WISN with her exclusively to her first post-op appointment after getting a kidney transplant."She would be kind of a poster child of people who come in and do well," said Froedtert surgeon, Dr. Terra Pearson. "She would be the poster child. She's doing amazing.""I'm doing really well," Prodoehl said. "I got my drain taken out. I got a staple taken out because the wound is looking really good."Earlier this month, Prodoehl was wheeled off the same floor she works to cheers from colleagues who have become much more."They're my family. They know everything. They were well-informed about everything going on. They knew ahead of time," Prodoehl said.WISN first introduced us to Prodoehl in 2020 when she found herself on the transplant list for the second time in her life. Born with a rare genetic disorder, she needed her first transplant, a new liver, in 2005.Christmas came early this month when just days before starting dialysis, a match was found."The night actually, I got the call and came in, everyone was like running down the hallways, excited and congratulating and hugging me. And I was so happy, so happy. It was me that was coming in for this organ," she said.Back on the mend, but not quite back to work, she's using the recovery time to share her story of the importance of organ donation."Yes, like Christmas. Especially right now, like, this is amazing because, you know, that person or whoever, whoever that was, I wouldn't be sitting here today talking to you guys had it not been for them. It's just amazing," she said.In hopes of encouraging others to give the gift of life."One out of every six people know somebody who has needed or is on a transplant list," Pearson said. "Which means that the life you save can be your next-door neighbor or even your family."To be connected with organ donation resources near you, click here.

CHICAGO — When it comes to getting an organ transplant, people with intellectual disabilities continue to face barriers. Misconceptions about their ability to comply with post-op requirements sometimes mean doctors and transplant centers have refused to put them on waiting lists.

Charlie Robertson is a sweet, curious 5-year-old girl, who loves to pick flowers for her family. But Charlie, who has Down syndrome was born with a hole in her heart that didn’t close on its own.

“It was kind of always in the back of my mind that if she needed surgery, something went wrong, she needed a heart transplant, she may be denied,” said Charlie’s mother, Lindsay.

Physicians and hospital transplant teams make the determination as to who is a good candidate to be added to the national waiting list. But denying organ transplants to people with intellectual disabilities like Down syndrome or autism still happens even though it’s illegal.

One study reported that 85% of pediatric transplant centers consider intellectual or developmental disability as a factor in their determination of transplant eligibility, and 44% of organ transplant centers wouldn’t add a child with a neurodevelopmental disability to the list.

“There is still discrimination faced by people with disabilities for organ transplants,” said Ashley Helsing, director of government relations with the National Down Syndrome Society.

Helsing says families can file a complaint with the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, but that takes time.

“And when a person is at the point where they need a transplant, time is absolutely of the essence,” said Helsing.

Earlier this year, Congress introduced federal legislation to expand protections in the Americans with Disabilities Act. It would prohibit organ transplant discrimination based on a person’s disability or their perceived inability to comply with postoperative care.

“Not many people with Down syndrome and those with IDD get the opportunity to have a life-saving organ transplant,” said Charlotte Woodward.

The proposed federal legislation is named for Woodward, a disability civil rights activist with Down syndrome who received a life-saving heart transplant nearly nine years ago.

“If my doctors hadn’t advocated for me to be a heart transplant recipient, I wouldn't be here,” said Woodward.

In the meantime, states are being lobbied to step in.

Texas recently joined 19 other states, like California, Ohio and Florida, that have passed laws ending disability-based discrimination on the organ transplant list. Another nine states, including Colorado, New York and Tennessee, have introduced similar legislation.

Lindsay Robertson worked to get a state bill passed in Illinois and on to the governor’s desk.

“As a mom, I feel like it's just one more thing that we have to fight for so that people know that it doesn't matter if they have a disability,” she said. “She's worth it. If she needs a transplant, she should be able to get one regardless of her diagnosis.