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FAC E S A N D P L AC E S
Giving a kidney to a stranger KATEY DAY ’17
PROFESSOR CREATES DONOR CHAIN REACTION
Messiah College Professor of Engineering Don Pratt donated a kidney to a complete stranger—all because of a radio ad. Last year, he happened to hear a commercial from the National Kidney Registry about something called a kidneydonor chain, which creates opportunities for multiple donor-recipient matches. “I had an overwhelming sense that this was something that God was calling me to do,” said Pratt. A kidney donor chain begins only with an altruistic donor— in
this case, Pratt— someone who wants to donate a kidney out of the goodness of his heart. That kidney is transplanted into a recipient who had a donor willing to give a kidney, but was not a match. “Let’s say your husband needs a kidney,” he explained. “You want to donate, but you’re not a match for him. But if you’re put into the database, maybe you’re a match for someone unrelated to you, maybe a guy in Kansas.
6 | SUMMER 2014 • THE BRIDGE • MESSIAH COLLEGE
So, through this chain, multiple transplants occur on the same day.” The day before surgery, Pratt read his Bible for encouragement. The doctors told him he could change his mind at any point— even as he was being wheeled into the operating room. But, he remained committed. After all, a chain of people depended on him to get the ball rolling. “I looked at verses on giving, thinking about how God gave us such a precious gift of His Son; how Jesus chose to give not a piece of Himself or an extra organ, but His very life for us,” he said. “I was utterly humbled.” Pratt says he timed the laparoscopic surgery during Christmas break. He returned to Messiah for spring semester and a full load of teaching. “I’m completely recovered now, and I was able to go to Cambodia during spring break,” he said. Also, he recently a dinner honoring altruistic donors in New York City. “I don’t have the stats, but apparently there are not very many people crazy enough to do this kind of thing.” — Jake Miaczynski ’20 and Anna Seip
Professor of Engineering Don Pratt consulted on a documentary about the first subway system, animating the sketches of Frank Sprague, an inventor known as the Father of Electric Traction.
PROF CONSULTS ON PBS DOCUMENTARY ABOUT SUBWAYS
PBS recently aired “The Race Underground,” a documentary about the first subway system in Boston, Messiah’s Professor of Engineering Don Pratt served as the technical consultant. Pratt deciphered sketches and notes from Frank Sprague, who is credited with the first designs of electric-powered trolley cars. While the documentary was in progress, Pratt was prepping to donate a kidney. That didn’t stop him from designing the film’s animations to bring Sprague’s notebook sketches to life.
VIEW THE DOCUMENTARY ON PBS’ WEBSITE AT MESSIAH. EDU/PBSDOC.