Clone Me A Kidney

Shauna at age 17                                          Shauna at age 27

 before her first kidney                                November '99.

 transplant.                                                    Apparent weight 

                                                                        gain is simply fluid

                                                                        build-up due to 

                                                                        kidney failure.

The following is a letter received by Randolfe Wicker, at The Clone Rights United Front.  The text speaks for itself:

> > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: <ShaunaCutl@aol.com>
> > > > To: <r.wicker@verizon.net>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, November 04, 1999 12:56 PM
> > > > Subject: cloning
> > > >

My name is Shauna Carroll Anderson.  I am a United States citizen who saw your information request on a HCF letter.  I am twenty-seven years old.  I have had two kidney transplants, and my current transplant is in failure.

I was born with normal functioning kidneys.  I developed a kidney disease called Membernus Nephrotic Syndrome from being exposed to hemolytic streptococci several times in my childhood.  The disease caused my kidneys to slowly fail.  I had 45% use of my kidneys from the age of nine until I was seventeen years of age.  At that time I had my first transplant because my kidneys had completely failed. The kidney was donated from my father.  Due to an exposure to a CMV virus in a blood transfusion the kidney transplanted only lasted for five years.  At that time I had a second transplant.  This kidney was donated from my mother.  I am now in kidney failure for the third time in my life.  I have no prospects for a potential living related donor. 

 The only thing the doctors can do in order to keep me alive while I am waiting for a kidney is put me on dialysis.  This is a very painful and physically draining ordeal.  I have to do it every other day for four hours at a time.  The dialysis machine removes the waste from my system that the kidneys cannot.  The machine also removes water, vitamins, and nutrients from my system at the same time it removes the waste.  All of these items in my blood turn to poison when they cannot be removed naturally.  I have many medical complications due to dialysis.  Vomiting, nausea, extreme pain, the inability to eat, the inability to drink, the inability to walk, insomnia, and extreme fatigue are only some of the complications.  I have had added stress to my heart on a dialysis machine, and needed to be rushed to the emergency room several times for possible heart attacks. I cannot live on dialysis for more than a few months.  It is too strenuous on my body.  I take immune suppressants in order to keep my adopted kidney alive as long as possible.  These drugs I take have given me: high blood pressure, cervical cancer, sensitivity to sunlight, hand tremors, headaches, nausea, an ulcer, easily scaring skin, more facial hair, abnormal menstrual cycles, water retention, brittle bones (I have broken several bones since I have been taking the drugs), increased appetite, stereotypical features such as round face and abdomen, thinning hair, blemishes, rashes, hot flashes, fatigue, the loss of my thyroid, weight gain, memory loss, mood swings, depression, and inability to maintain a normal life style.  I was born with normal kidneys. 

 If there were anyway I could clone my own kidney and have it transplanted into my own body, I could live a relatively normal life.  I would no longer have to take the immune suppressants.  I should be able to live a long and healthy life without the complications associated with my immune suppressants.  I could also live without the fear of rejection of the kidney.  It would be a complete and total miracle.  It would save my life.  There is a good chance that if some kind of cloning is not developed by the time I need a kidney transplant; I may not live long enough on dialysis to have a transplant from a cadaver. I will do anything with in my power to help persons understand the necessity of cloning organs for medical reasons.  It will save lives.  There are persons life myself who cannot wait for someone to die to give them an organ, they do not have the time. 

I, Shauna Carroll Anderson, give you permission to use this letter in any way that can promote the knowledge of cloning in a positive light. You have permission to contact my Doctor at the Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida at 407-894-4693.  His name is Dr. Joseph Warren.  He is my Nephrologist.  I give you permission to use any information about me in any way to help promote cloning in a positive light for medical reasons.  You can reach me at the following address 3023 India Blvd. Deltona, Florida 32738.  The phone number for me Monday though Friday is 407-575-3122, or 407-860-0305, Thank you for your interest and I hope my letter is or can be helpful to you in helping persons see how important cloning is to the future of medicine.

 > > > >----- Original Message -----

Mr. Wicker's response follows:

> > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > > From:  <r.wicker@verizon.net>
> > > > To:  <ShaunaCutl@aol.com>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, November 04, 1999 12:56 PM
> > > > Subject: cloning
> > > >

Dear  Shauna,

Tears run down my cheek as I write this to you.

A very good friend, over whom I been assigned "medical power of attorney", suffered from diabetes.  He had lost his sight.  He had lost his ability to walk.  And, ultimately, his kidneys failed because of his diabetes. He hated dialysis.  Blind, unable to walk, and with kidney failure—plus being HIV Positive--he chose "to die" and I was left with the job of facing down the "angry doctors"-- "He doesn't have to die, you know!" They challenged me. "Of course not," I replied.  "But that is his choice.  Should he lay in bed, unable to walk, unable to see and suffer through dialysis weekly, just so he can wait for HIV to kick in?" Mark Ross was his name and he chose to die. 

 I closed out his bank account and sent the seven or eight hundred dollars he had to his indigent mother in Florida (a fortune to her-not much of an inheritance but better than nothing)--and then I filed the forms so the City of New York would pay for his cremation.  I arranged for his ashes to be taken to the river with another friend's that last Sunday in June (Gay Pride Day-both of them happened to be gay but that is of no importance to this story.) 

Since I really believe, when you die, you die, (really, totally) I want to urge you to cling to life.  I have read stories where at the last moment an "organ"--or for those who 'believe'- "a miracle" occurs - and they get that 'unlikely gift' of a second chance at life.  I would only wish that good luck for you.  I am so touched that you shared this precious emotional moment with me and (I SWEAR TO YOU) that I will share your letter to me with "THE REST OF THE WORLD AND SEE IT IS PART OF THE CLONING RIGHT'S MOVEMENTS' HISTORY!" I feel so inadequate that I can offer you no more.  But, rest assured, your wishes for medical advances through cloning technology will always be with me and will, hopefully, sustain and energize me in those dark moments of my own personal despair.  Thank you so much for torturing me with your heart-tearing letter.  It has filled me with a new stronger and broader understanding of the "real importance" of the battle, which I have chosen to fight. I have held the hand of several dying friends.  Death is not so bad.  It's the process" that's awful.  Don’t be afraid to make any choice that seems "best" for you.  I will never forget this letter.  "Been there, done that" is just too tacky a way to put it.  I'll always love you for writing to me about this. 

Thank you for making me cry and cry and cry and realize that I'm not just an old man" but still a vibrant living human being!!! Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you! May you make the decision that is right for you.

My love always,

Randy Wicker

 > > > >----- Original Message -----

After two weeks of lengthy emails and phone conversations, Shauna Anderson had joined us in our movement to make the world a better place for all.

> > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: <ShaunaCutl@aol.com>
> > > > To: <r.wicker@verizon.net>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, November 16, 1999 12:56 PM
> > > > Subject: cloning
> > > >

My name is Shauna Carroll Anderson. I have become an advocate for organ cloning recently. I wanted to explain who I am and why I feel this cause is so important.

I thought I should begin this letter by introducing myself on a more personal level. I have been living in Florida since I was three years old.

 My father was in the Navy. He retired from the Navy when I was diagnosed with my kidney disease. I was nine.  My Father was going to move up north and teach electronics for a University; but my staff of Doctors said the winters would be too harsh for me.

 He became the supervisor at Walt Disney for the maintenance and electronics division. My mother worked at the Sheriff's Department as the evidence technician from the time I was six until she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1993.

I remained at 45% use of my kidneys until I was seventeen. My father then gave me one of his kidneys. The adopted organ only lasted for five years.

 At that time I was put on dialysis. I was to receive a cadaver kidney. This meant I would go on a list. I would then wait up to two or more years for an available kidney from a deceased person. The average life span for a transplanted cadaver kidney is five years. 

 While I was on dialysis I became more ill than ever expected. After only three months I became so ill my doctor pleaded for a volunteer in my family to give me a kidney if at all possible. He stated I would not live much longer on the dialysis machine. I was unable to eat, drink, walk, or function in any normal manner while on receiving dialysis treatments.

 The pain and torture of being drained by the machine cannot be truly explained by words. My mother was the only member of my family who was a compatible match. She agreed to give me the kidney immediately.

I received her kidney and was put on anti-rejection medication for the second time in my life. The medicines suppressed my immune system to keep my body from being strong enough to kill the foreign object placed in my body, my mother's kidney.

 Because the immune system is suppressed I had no defense from natural colds, bacteria and other simple viruses that the body can usually fight with healthy immune system.

 The Immune Suppressants also have side effects that are quite severe. Some of the more extreme side effects are: nausea, vomiting, migraines, abnormal hair growth on face, edema, high blood pressure, sensitivity to sunlight and slow healing process, promotion of cancer of several types, fatigue, memory loss, thinning hair, extreme pain, increased appetite, rounded face and abdomen, and others.

 The year my mother gave me her kidney was also 1993. She literally gave me her kidney and was immediately diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.

 My father retired and, he took care of both of us following our surgery. At that time he helped us recover from our surgery and her cancer. Now, he is caring for her progressed state of cancer and my current and third time confronting kidney failure.

My father knew my health would never be complete enough for me to live a normal life; but he tried to give me as normal a life as possible. He helped enroll me in a home schooling program. He then set up a job for me working part time at Walt Disney. He knew I could not work very hard, so he arranged a minor position with little to no physical duties.

 He finally paid for me to finish college and the university. He knew I would never be well enough to use my degree. He just wanted me to live as normal and happy of a life as possible. I decided to go to University of Central Florida for exceptional Education and Varying Exceptionalities. That is a long way of saying I was able to work with and teach all kinds of handicapped children. I did do some voluntary work with children for a short time.

 My illness now has progressed to the point that my kidneys only work at 30%. I feel extremely fatigued in attempting to accomplish daily rituals such as showering, grocery shopping, or even going for a ride in the car. Working with children now is completely out of the question. I believe that if I ever get a cloned kidney I would love to work with children again. It would be nice to feel useful. I have been taken care of my entire life. I have been on immune suppressants for too long to have children; in fact they have caused me to grow a cyst on my ovaries that is making it necessary for me to have a complete hysterectomy this spring.

 I always that thought when my mother's kidney inside me died I would die soon after.

 Then the announcement of cloning became the headline news. I first thought since they could clone an animal that I could walk into an office and some genetic doctor could grow a new kidney. I did not understand all of the arguments involved with why we should or should not clone. To me it was a matter of life or death. I did not see a logical reason for there to be an argument.

 Now I think about my illness all the time. I feel myself becoming more tired and weaker as months go by. My thought process has changed from believing I would immediately be saved by the miracle of genetics to being cognitive that it may not ever be so.

 I understand that the concept of cloning in any form is an element that must be picked apart and explained to the public, press, and influential communities. That is why
I have begun the quest to write to everyone I can think of about cloning.

 As my health slowly drains out of me, I feel an even stronger urge to explain why it is so important to allow organ cloning. I know that someday there will be a person in my position who needs a transplant desperately; but will have no compatible donor available. The thought of working with children, of not depending on family to care for me, and of having choices of what I want to do with the rest of my life are inconceivable to me. These things may never happen for me.

 I know that I have a time limit, and I am reminded more of it day by day.

 My life may not have been useful in the conventional way a normal persons is; but I pray that I am able to be a useful example for others. I can explain why people need to be saved by cloning.

 If I die it will make my plea more profound than it is at present. If my loss of life due to a lack of an organ (kidney) draws the attention of the press and the media, then my life shall have had purpose.

 If that attention causes people to group together and save people lives through the advancement of cloning, then my life shall have had the most important purpose I could ever of hoped to have been given. These are not just words I have written, but my thoughts, pleas, and prayers. I desire and plead that everyone who has any compassion and humanity to please listen to my words and try to understand the meaning behind them.

 I am not just one sick girl begging the scientific community to save her life. I am someone who is pleading for everyone to understand that cloning can and will save lives.

 If my writing saves one life to anyone who will take the time to listen, then my life has been was worth living.

 Sincerely,

 Shauna Carroll Anderson

 P.S.:  I wish my thoughts to be sent to as many persons who will listen. I give anyone permission to use anything about me personally, anything I say, or write, to promote cloning in a positive light.

 I am willing to converse to anyone. I will answer any questions. I am willing to do whatever I can in order to help people understand my perspective.

 It will really save lives. I am proud to be apart of making people understand that.

 You have permission to give people a mailing address where they can reach me at 3023 India Blvd. Deltona, Florida.32730 by e-mail Shaunacutl@aol.com.

 > > > >----- Original Message -----

To be continued. . . .