A Cowlitz 2 firefighter has found another way to serve his community.
Brad Yoder, a Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue Firefighter/EMT, will donate his right kidney to Dana Clayton, a local woman who is lifelong friends with Yoder’s wife, Laura, according to a Cowlitz 2 press release.
The surgery will take place Monday at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland.
Clayton suffers from Polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of numerous cysts in the kidneys. Yoder’s kidney is an exact match.
According to the press release, PKD cysts can greatly enlarge the kidneys and replace their normal structure, which can result in kidney disease. Kidney function declines over time and can lead to kidney failure. Clayton is in the end stages of the disease, according to the press release.
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“Most candidates go through a four to six-month testing process before finding a match,” Yoder said, according to the press release. “Ours took only six weeks; it was just meant to be. For me, this is the ultimate in servanthood. I’m donating so that she can live, period.”
In order for Yoder to take enough time off from work to undergo and recover from the operation, multiple employees donated sick time to him.