Unexpected kidney failure after her 1989 liver transplant led David, Joan's son, to donate one of his kidneys. As the pair recovered for three months in Pittsburgh, where transplant pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl performed Joan's liver transplant, they learned the true meaning of friendship and community.

Hours from his Ohio home, David was torn between his own recovery, his mother's need for assistance, his dental practice, and his wife Betsy, who was at home with their newborn and their two older children. Luckily, friends and family rushed in to cook meals and to help baby-sit.

David rented an apartment in Pittsburgh and organized a schedule of friends and family who took turns staying there and visiting Joan in the hospital. David returned on weekends to check up on his mother.

“In any difficult situation, people come forward to do what they can,” David said. “I think that was their way of showing help and support. Having so much support made it easier and helped my wife through it a lot because I was gone.”

But it was Joan's daughter Jan who made the largest sacrifice. She gave up her graduate studies in speech/hearing pathology at the University of Cincinnati to care for her recuperating mother after Joan left the hospital.

“We all made sacrifices the way we could and supported the family,” David remembered. “We were all doing what we could to try to get Mom back, and fortunately enough, it's all worked out.”

While Joan was recuperating in Pittsburgh, David had to organize coverage of his dental office. Through his local professional society, the Dayton Dental Society, he arranged for colleagues to come in and cover his patient appointments.

“People come up to me all the time, especially dentists, and ask how my mother's doing because they came into my office and worked,” David said. “It's amazing, the number of people that still remember all that.”

Joan made a complete recovery. Her medical therapy including Prograf allowed her to return to her own way of life, including giving back to the community through her job as a teacher for students with multiple handicaps. Now retired, she occasionally will speak to other individuals who face a transplant.

“There's a lady now who is having problems with her liver, and I have given her the information that the drug company has sent to me,” Joan said. “I tell her I'm not trying to push her into something, but she should look at it and review the information.”

David has done his part to encourage living donation by speaking to his Rotary Club about his experiences as a donor and also to families who are considering the living donor option.

“Now, compared to what I did, the procedure is so simple,” David explained. “Don't hesitate to do it.”

Prograf^® (tacrolimus capsules and injection) is approved for the prevention of rejection in patients who have received a liver or kidney transplant. Only physicians and facilities specializing in transplantation should manage patients taking Prograf. Anti-rejection medications may result in an increased possibility of developing an infection or lymphoma, a type of cancer.

In clinical studies, up to 20% of patients taking Prograf developed insulin dependent diabetes after transplant, but in some patients, after two years, insulin was no longer required. Black and Hispanic kidney transplant patients were at an increased risk.

Prograf has been associated with toxicity to the kidneys and nervous system. Common side effects are tremor, headache, high blood pressure, diarrhea, nausea and changes in kidney function.

Prograf should not be used in patients allergic to tacrolimus. Prograf injection should not be used in patients allergic to castor oil.

Prograf Prescribing Information
Prograf Patient Information
Prograf Safety Information

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