The Steamboat Springs driver’s license office regularly ranks as one of the top DMV offices in the country when it comes to people electing to register to donate an organ, cornea or tissue after death. However, living donor gifts of a kidney or bone marrow are needed to help Routt County residents now.
“Living donation is an opportunity to save a life now, while you are still living, by donating a kidney or part of your liver, pancreas or intestine,” according to Donate Life Colorado. “Living donation is not part of signing up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor” with the DMV.
Donating living tissue may seem daunting compared to the driver’s license designation or donating blood at a public drive, but the process starts simply by completing an online questionnaire available at UCHealthLivingDonor.org. Or, for potential bone marrow donations, the Be the Match registry that targets donors ages 18-40 is available at BetheMatch.org.
Friends of Clark electrician David Schwanke have organized three Be the Match bone marrow registration events since he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia in July. Family friend Brittany Grimes said some 50 locals have swabbed their cheeks to see if they might be a match.
When potential living donors become a match for organs or tissues, the vast majority of donation costs are covered by the recipient’s insurance or a donor matching agency.
“There are a lot of people in need. If you are in good health and of the mindset to do something amazingly generous for someone else, find out if you can be a living donor.” –
Craig resident Christine Trujillo, who received a kidney transplant Oct. 9
Earlier this year, Schwanke, 40, noticed some sudden and profound bruising on his body, so he went to the doctor for blood work. Schwanke became an in-patient at Presbyterian/Saint Lukes’s Medical Center in Denver in the specialized leukemia unit where he was confirmed to have Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a rapidly progressing cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow.
Schwanke has undergone multiple IV chemotherapy treatments, and doctors say he now needs a bone marrow transplant within the next few weeks.
Schwanke owns Dome Mountain Electric. His wife, Lindy, works as the marketing director for Rex’s Restaurants, and the couple has a young son. Friends set up a successful “David Schwanke Cancer Relief Fund” Go Fund Me page to help cover the family’s childcare, travel and housing expenses related to staying in Denver for treatments.
In September 2022, the U.S. reached a milestone of one million organ transplants, more than any other country in the world, according to United Network for Organ Sharing. Half of all transplants performed in the U.S. have taken place in the past 15 years with more than 400,000 people alive today with a functioning transplant.
“Because only 2% of people die in a way that makes organ donation possible, the need is great,” UNOS noted.
Craig resident Christine Trujillo, whose friends strongly promoted living donor registrations through the summer, is at home after a kidney transplant on Oct. 9. Trujillo said she is growing stronger and less tired every day following her kidney transplant from a deceased donor. She will remain on anti-rejection medications for the rest of her life.
Steamboat Springs resident Steven Geer, 49, also needs a kidney transplant due to kidney failure. The recommended option is for a living donor.
Geer was raised in Walden, has lived in Steamboat since 2008 and has worked in IT at Big Agnes since 2012. He started getting sick in May 2021 with symptoms such as anemia and respiratory issues, and in December 2021, his kidneys suddenly seized. He was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Goodpasture syndrome, a rare disorder when a body mistakenly makes antibodies that attack the lungs and kidneys.
After some dialysis treatments in Laramie and Avon, Geer continues to fight fatigue and currently is undergoing peritoneal dialysis at home that takes 12 hours per night.
“Although I am eligible for a transplant from a deceased person, my best chances are from a living donor,” Geer said, with more information available on his donor search on the Facebook page dubbed Kidney Quest.
Although dozens of friends and acquaintances have been tested to see if their kidney is a match for Geer, no match has been found yet. After completing the health history survey online for UCHealth, potential donors receive a free physical either locally or in Denver if the testing is more advanced, Geer said.
In addition to more common transplants for kidney and liver, organs that can be transplanted include heart, lung, intestines and pancreas, according to Donate Life America. Tissues that can be transplanted include eyes/cornea, heart valves, bone, skin, veins and arteries, and nerve. Umbilical cord blood also can be donated from mothers giving birth, as cord blood can be used to treat certain types of cancer and blood diseases.