Facebook post leads to kidney donation for Cedar Rapids man

Nick Etten is more than just a Facebook friend to the Burge family.

Etten, 24, of Cedar Rapids, responded to Matthew Burge's Facebook request for a kidney donor for his dad.

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Burge, 22, of Cedar Rapids, had been friends with Etten when the two attended Kirkwood Community College, but he didn't think much would come of his request.

“Does anyone want to donate a kidney to my dad?” Burge posted on Sept. 18.

Within minutes, Etten responded.

“I read it and instantly knew if I was a match, I'd do it,” said Etten, a Yellowbook employee. “Ever since I read the Facebook post I knew it was the right thing to do.”

John Burge, 50, of Cedar Rapids, suffers from polycystic kidney disease and faced dialysis in the coming weeks if a match and donor kidney weren't found. None of his family matched.

The genetic disease causes kidneys to become enlarged with cysts that can lead to kidney failure.

Transplant surgery is scheduled for today at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

“I was ecstatic,” said John Burge, a systems engineer at Trapeze ITS in Cedar Rapids. “It's just incredible that he just stepped forward.”

He and Etten did not meet until testing began at the hospital to see if Etten might be a donor.

Dr. Alan Reed, chief of the UI Organ Transplant Center, said social networking sites, such as Facebook, are changing the organ donation process.

“It's a way to get the word out,” he said. “It's a way to form relationships and get people transplanted.”

Reed, who will perform today's surgery on Burge, said stringent rules govern the donation process.

“We have to make sure the motivation is right and nothing illegal is being done,” he said. “In other words, you can't buy a kidney.”

Etten said he has no ulterior motive, other than “being nice.”

“I just think that everyone has one true good thing to do in their life and I'd get it done when I'm young,” said Etten, who is single and noted that he isn't religious.

He hoped the donation would raise awareness of polycystic kidney disease and the need for organ donors.

In Iowa, 446 people are awaiting a kidney, according to the Iowa Donor Registry, with more than 83,000 waiting for a kidney nationwide.

With no complications, both Burge and Etten should be home for Christmas.

“He's giving our family the greatest Christmas gift we could ask for,” Matthew Burge said. “That's really what it comes down to.”

UPDATE: Dr. Alan Reed reported that today's transplant surgery "went well for all involved."