GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN) — Ken Reese remembers how selfless his mother, Doris, was. When he was a high school student 49 years ago, his mom gave him a new lease on life by donating one of her kidneys to him.
“She was actually very selfless. She raised five kids, comes from a Swedish heritage,” Ken told KOIN 6 News. “We were always close, but I think it brought us closer. There was a situation in the hospital, right before transplant, where I had asked her, ‘Do you really want to do this? Is this OK?’ She said, ‘Of course!’”
The transplant allowed him to go to college, marry and have a family. As the years went on they stayed close as life with his mom’s kidney became even more meaningful.
“We would always call each other on October 6th, my transplant date,” he said. “So we would always call each other, talk to each other, go out for dinner.”
This day, November 18, Doris would have turned 100 years old. Although she died in 2012 at the age of 88, her kidney is still working well inside Ken.