The Wait

Kalispell man with failing kidneys needs transplant

Robert "Bob" Kollmann, 47, has known for years that kidney failure was in his future. He just didn't know when.

A claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance in Kalispell, Kollmann looks the picture of health. He has kept himself fit, and his skin tone gives no clue of his illness.

"My physician says I look healthier than I should," he said with an laugh.

With a kidney function now of less than 10 percent, Kollmann could start dialysis within months. He joined the waiting list a year ago for a kidney transplant through Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane.

Because of his type O blood and a family riddled with kidney disease, he faces a potentially longer wait for a suitable donor organ than most transplant candidates.

Kollmann's supervisor at State Farm contacted the Inter Lake about her employee's dilemma. Even though he's a very private person, he decided to share his story.

"If this gets people to sign up [to donate], even if it's not me that benefits, that's great," he said. "We can educate people."

Kollmann said he was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease when he was 19 or 20.

It wasn't a shock.

"It's in my family from my mother," he said. "I've got a brother and sister and cousins that have it. It's a very hereditary thing in our family."

His first clue that he had lost the genetic lottery was when he developed high blood pressure as a teen. Medical tests revealed the telltale cysts on his kidneys. The cysts eventually will destroy the kidneys, he said.

Kollmann and family members have participated for years as research subjects at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. They send blood samples to help researchers find a cure.

No one has found one. As the most common genetic, life-threatening disease, polycystic kidney disease affects more than 600,000 Americans.

Like Kollmann, they face strict regimens of dialyses as their kidneys lose their abilities to filter wastes from their blood. To lead quality lives, their best hopes lie in finding donors close in size and with matching blood types.

At 6 feet tall and 190 pounds, Kollmann could use a kidney - which is about the size of a fist - from a person weighing at least 150 pounds. He said a kidney from a smaller person would wear out sooner than from someone closer to his size.

When it comes to blood type, Kollmann was blessed and cursed with type O. As a universal donor, he had given several gallons of blood to others before his kidneys deteriorated. He also can donate an organ to any other blood type but can receive one only from someone with type O blood.

"I could donate to my wife, but she can't donate to me," he said.

Kollmann said his teenage children wouldn't qualify, because the hereditary nature of the disease makes a family donation dicey. His children have a 50 percent chance of developing the disease.

Polycystic kidney disease follows no predictable course of development.

For many years, Kollmann said he suffered no physical effects from his kidney cysts. He just visited his physician once a year to monitor the condition.

Then, in his early 40s, he started to see a function drop, he said.

"As I get closer to failure, I don't have the energy or stamina I once had," he said.

Kollmann compares the feeling to the aftereffects of the flu. His muscles and stomach don't feel the way they should, and he feels fatigued.

"Basically, my body is poisoning itself," he said.

Two years ago, Kollmann could ski from 8 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m.

"Last winter, I couldn't hardly ski for two hours," he said.

He walks every day for exercise, but not the distance he used to cover.

Kollmann's yearly checkup has multiplied into monthly visits with his nephrologist, Dr. Scott Born, who checks his blood chemistry, and lungs and heart for any accumulating fluid.

His monthly co-pays for medications now amount to "a good car payment," Kollmann said. The meds don't cure the disease but keep his body in balance and slow the destruction.

He said he potentially could live for years on dialysis. But recent studies show patients who receive transplants have a better chance of survival.

People interested in helping can make a difference simply by marking "organ donor" on their driver's licenses. This decision could reduce from 16 the number of people who die each day in this country while waiting for an organ.

"If they have the internal strength to be a live donor, they should consider it," Kollmann said.

Humans have enough extra capacity in their kidneys to easily live with one kidney. Follow-up studies of World War II veterans who lost kidneys in battle verified that finding.

Statistics show that living donors face a very small risk from surgery.

New minimally invasive methods of removing donor kidneys have reduced soreness and recovery time.

Anyone considering a live donation goes through a battery of physical and psychological tests at transplant centers such as Sacred Heart. The organ recipient's insurance takes care of all medical costs.

Kidneys top the list as the most-needed transplant organ. However, Kollmann remains optimistic that a suitable donor will be found.

He counts his blessings, such as good insurance and a good job that requires more mental than physical power. Except for failing kidneys, his good health makes him an excellent candidate for transplantation.

He stays close to a telephone or cell phone, waiting to hear that a kidney is available.

"It's a huge gift to give anybody," Kollmann said.

"Even in Kalispell, there are a lot of people waiting."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.