Nineteen year old Lance Moritz of Streator is recovering from the kidney transplant he wanted. The donor died Thursday last week, doctors matched that person to Moritz, and Moritz went into surgery that night. Now he has about two months of recovery that he’ll spend with little to no contact with anyone not closely related to him.
Moritz and many people who know him publicized his request for a kidney last month, letting everyone know they can donate one kidney as long as they have another one that works. FarmWeek Now reports he came close to having a “secret Santa” living donor. A woman who’d been giving Christmas gifts to someone every year with her husband is keeping the practice going since her spouse died. She chose to help Moritz, but ultimately doctors matched him to the donor who died.
Moritz’s kidney functions were declining since he was seven years old because of a rare genetic condition called tuberous sclerosis, which causes organs to develop tumors. Lately, he’d been having dialysis at a hospital every night. His surgery in Peoria last week could enable him to help his family run its farm and landscaping businesses without the nightly interruptions for many years–however long the donated kidney functions.