SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 1, 2007) \u2013 Two sisters \u2013 Alice Westlind and Priscilla Richards –\u00a0 are recovering nicely following kidney transplant surgery 10 days ago at the California Pacific Medical Center, when Alice donated a kidney to her sister whose kidneys were functioning at only 15 percent of efficiency.
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\n![\"Sisters\"](\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/to\/3P\/to3PLKknp3v1nDz0CEJs_g\/Kidney.jpg\")
\u201cThe outpouring of love and support and prayers has been absolutely overwhelming,\u201d says Mark Westlind, who with his wife, Alice, have served as Evangelical Covenant Church missionaries since 1987. \u201cWe are so grateful to all of you for your concern and care for all of us,\u201d he writes in an update this week to family and friends.\u00a0 The accompanying photo shows Alice (right) and Priscilla.<\/p>\n
Both women were released within four days following the surgery, which in itself is unusual, according to another sister, Fran Fostey of Chicago. The tissue match was \u201coff the charts\u201d in terms of closeness, Fostey says, with doctors referring to the two women as the new \u201cposter children\u201d for organ transplants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors said that they do not see matches like this very often – usually it is only in identical twins,\u201d Mark notes. The policy of the hospital is to have the donor and recipient in separate rooms, \u201cbut the two sisters \u2018talked\u2019 them into being together,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
A friend of the Westlinds, also a kidney donor, reports that some 90,000 individuals in the United Status are waiting for a new kidney, Mark observes. \u201cNow there are 89,999!\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters have been recuperating at Priscilla\u2019s home, with Alice scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Thursday. Alice will be envolved in follow-up examinations for a three-year period \u2013 Priscilla will take anti-rejection medications the remainder of her life.<\/p>\n
The Westlinds, who have three children, Nils, Natalia and Nicole, began their mission work in Medell\u00edn, Colombia, later moving to Bogot\u00e1 and completing their work in Cartagena. They are now working in Argentina, where they have been serving since 2005.<\/p>\n