Howard Broadman, 66, is a self-proclaimed “pusher,” and now he’s created a unique way to donate.
It’s a new life-saving system that’s putting a twist on the old coupon.
Broadman came up with a plan that could revolutionize kidney transplants.
His grandson, Quinn, was born with one kidney that does not function well, meaning he’ll need a new kidney someday.
Broadman wanted to be that donor for Quinn, but because of his age, he would have to donate a kidney now.
That’s what inspired Broadman’s idea, “Well, wait a minute. This doesn’t make any sense. .Why don’t I just give my kidney to somebody else and just get a voucher and give it to Quinn?”
Dr. Jeff Veale and his colleagues at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center embraced the idea.
Broadman started a kidney chain by donating to a stranger in 2014.
Armed with a gift certificate from his grandfather, Quinn will be the last recipient from a living donor on that chain when he’s ready. He will not have to be placed on the deceased donor waiting list, that already has 100,000 people in queue.
“You can get a kidney more or less immediately. And the advantage of getting a living donor kidney is that living donor kidneys function for twice as long as deceased donor kidneys,” said Veale.
Nine other major hospital systems have signed on with UCLA, meaning kidney gift certificates like Quinn’s will be honored in places across the country.
A teenager on the East Coast has also received a “kidney gift certificate.”