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Dozens Offer a Kidney to Mourning


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<span style='color:deeppink'> Nov. 26) — Alonzo Mourning's intensity on the basketball court has earned him fame and fortune, and now it may enhance his chances of receiving a new kidney. Since Monday's announcement that he is in need of a kidney transplant and must end his N.B.A. comeback with the Nets, dozens of people across the nation have offered to serve as his donor.

 

"From Texas, California, Seattle, Florida, Detroit and parts of New England, people have been calling to say: 'How do I get tested? I'd like to help,' " Gregory Perrin, the director of marketing and development for the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America, said yesterday. "A number of them are saying: 'I'm a Zo fan. I love the way he played basketball.' Some are actually saying: 'I'm a Knicks fan, but I admire what he did in going public with this. I'd like to help.' "

 

Perrin said that about 30 people had telephoned the foundation offering assistance. Another two dozen or so called the Nets, and others sent e-mail messages to Mourning's doctor, Gerald Appel, a kidney specialist at Columbia University and a board member of the Kidney and Urology Foundation.

 

All potential donors, in addition to being tested for a physical match with Mourning, whose blood type is O, will be screened to determine their reason for donating. Mourning earned well over $100 million during his 12-year playing career. Anyone with an improper motive for donating would most likely be turned away.

 

"Maybe someone thinks: 'He's a rich guy. In a couple of years, I'll hit him up for some money,' " said Elaine Berg, the president and chief executive of the New York Organ Donor Network. "The motivation of the donor has to be truly altruistic."

 

Berg said it was somewhat disturbing that dozens of people would offer to donate an organ to a celebrity, while others stay on the waiting list for years. "It's not fair, but the reality is, if people want to give specifically to Alonzo or to nobody at all, why not save Alonzo?" she said.

 

Many of the callers, awakened to the issue by Mourning's predicament, have said they are willing to donate to anyone, Perrin said.

 

Mourning, 33, who had been a star center with the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat, was attempting to return to basketball for the second time since he was found to have focal glomerulosclerosis three years ago. Twelve games into the season, an examination showed that his condition had deteriorated to the point that he was in jeopardy of going into cardiac arrest on the court.

 

Appel said Mourning would need a transplant soon, and his relatives and friends are being tested for compatibility for a transplant.

 

The next step would be to test the people who have offered to serve as donors. If no matches are found, Mourning, who may need dialysis, will be added to a list of nearly 57,000 Americans waiting for a kidney.

 

Some people remain on the list as long as five years before receiving one, Berg said. "With so many people coming forward for Alonzo, chances are much better for him that he's going to find a match," she said.

 

It is not unusual for a celebrity to receive a response like Mourning's. Perrin said the Kidney and Urology Foundation had received a comparable number of calls when it was announced that the singer Barry White, who died last summer of kidney failure, needed a transplant.

 

The average person often has trouble finding donors; Berg said that about 12,000 people donate organs annually, including 6,000 upon death, for a pool of 83,000 people who need an organ transplant.

 

An average of 17 people die per day waiting to receive one, she said.

 

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