Gallatin County

Belgrade couple hoping to be part of kidney swap

Posted: Feb 26, 2013 9:05 AM by Judy Slate
Updated: Feb 26, 2013 10:11 AM

BELGRADE - Ger Brunckhorst has had kidney problems his entire life. When he was 24 years old he had a transplant with a kidney donated by his sister. Now, he needs a new kidney and because of antibodies in his system, the new kidney must be nearly a perfect match.

Ger has been on the deceased donor list for about three years and now he's on a new registry thanks to his wife, Aimee. Even though Aimee is not a match for her husband, she's decided to donate her kidney to someone else so that Ger can be part of the couple's registry.

"They're looking for someone else who has my genetic type, but they're also looking for somebody that Aimee can give a kidney too," said Ger Brunckhorst.

It's a kidney swap.

"When a new pair comes in, the computer figures out, ok, will this be a match with anybody else that matches to someone else that matches to someone else. It's like a domino effect," Aimee explained.

There are 326 pairs on the nationwide registry, and so far, they have not found a match, but the couple is confident they'll find a kidney for Ger this year.

The Brunckhorsts are hosting a silent auction party to raise money to help pay medical bills not covered by insurance and other expenses. The surgeries will be performed in Denver and once a match is found Ger will have to be there for about a month.

More information about the party and the donor registry is available at the couple's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/GersKidneyTransplant?fref=ts

They are also accepting donations at First Interstate Bank under the Ger's Transplant Fund.