Living Donor Feels Blessed by Experience - Craig Gohlke

In 1974, Craig Gohlke greeted a new co-worker, Terry Swain, at Akron Porcelain & Plastics Company. The two immediately hit it off. During the next three decades, Terry would become Craig’s good friend, family member and recipient of one of his kidneys.

Terry had polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a hereditary condition in which multiple cysts form on the kidneys, causing them to become enlarged. The disease progresses gradually, eventually leading to kidney failure. Terry lost his mother and all three sisters to PKD. Yet he remained upbeat. “He did not let the disease bother him,” says Craig. “He had good days and bad days, but you would never know it. He was an all-around good guy—devoted to his family.”

That devotion to family led Terry to persuade Craig to go on a blind date with his sister-in-law. Terry thought Craig and his wife’s sister Beth were well-suited: They were both reserved and straight-laced. “After a couple years, I finally decided to give it a try,” says Craig. Terry and his wife Judie introduced Craig to Beth at a little sandwich shop on West Market Street in Akron. “He proved to be a good matchmaker,” says Craig. “Beth and I were married three years later.”

Through the years, Craig and Terry’s friendship grew. When Craig’s son Chris was born, Terry taught him an important skill. “He showed me the right way to change a diaper,” recalls Craig with a laugh. “After having four sons of his own, Terry picked up a few tricks along the way that he didn’t mind sharing.”

In 2001, Terry learned he needed a kidney transplant. Now it was Craig’s turn to share. He did not hesitate to go through compatibility testing, along with numerous other family members and friends. Craig was the best match. In February 2002, he donated a kidney to his lifelong friend. “I saved somebody’s life—somebody I really, really liked,” says Craig. “I didn’t hesitate, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

With a critical shortage of deceased kidney donors, living donors such as Craig are true saviors. In northeast Ohio, more than one-third of people on the organ waiting list need a kidney, according to Lifebanc, the region’s organ procurement and tissue recovery agency. Many of them could get a new lease on life thanks to a living donor.

You have the power to save lives by becoming a registered organ and tissue donor right now or by saying "yes" when renewing your driver license or state ID at the BMV.

Craig admits the surgery wasn’t easy. “I went from being extremely active to laying in a hospital bed recovering,” he says. He was out of work for about three weeks. But within a couple months, his life was back to normal. And he had extended Terry’s life.

Terry died in 2006 from a severe pancreatitis attack. But in the four years between his transplant and death, he celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary, greeted a new grandchild into the family, watched his youngest son graduate from high school and attended countless sporting events, backyard cookouts and bonfires.

“We had a standing joke that Terry owed me big time,” chuckles Craig. But he adds that being a donor is equally special as being a recipient. “I am extremely proud to belong to a small, unheralded group of men and women who live with the privilege of being a living organ donor.”

 You have the power to save lives by becoming a registered organ and tissue donor right now or by saying "yes" when renewing your driver license or state ID at the BMV.