Teacher, 44, donates a kidney to his sixth-grade student after own son beat kidney failure

A sixth-grader was able to get a second chance at life after his teacher donated his kidney to him.

Kaden Koebcke, from Powder Springs, Georgia, had been diagnosed with kidney disease at age two.

His first transplant came when he was five years old after his father donated. But, after Kaden’s body rejected the organ within less than a week, he was put on dialysis.

By 12 years old, his condition had deteriorated to such an extent that doctors told his family he needed another kidney transplant, again from a living donor.

Doctors warned the Koebckes that it would very hard to find a compatible match because Kaden’s body had already rejected a donation once before. 

But a Good Samaritan came in the form of Kaden’s technology teacher at Grace Christian Academy, William Wilkinson, who said he felt driven to donate after his own son beat kidney failure at two years old.

The 44-year-old decided to get tested, and, when was found to be a match, said he was so excited that he delivered the news to the family himself.

Wilkinson, 44 (pictured), a technology teacher at Grace Christian Academy, discovered he was a match in May

William Wilkinson, 44 (right, with his wife), a technology teacher at Grace Christian Academy in Powder Springs, Georgia, donated his kidney to sixth-grade student Kaden Koebcke (left), 12, who doctors said was in desperate need of a transplant 

Kaden was diagnosed at age two with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disease in which scar tissue forms on the glomeruli, which filters the kidneys. Pictured: Wilkinson and Kaden chat over Skype

Kaden was diagnosed at age two with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disease in which scar tissue forms on the glomeruli, which filters the kidneys. Pictured: Wilkinson and Kaden chat over Skype

When Kaden was two years old, he was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). 

FSGS is a rare disease in which scar tissue develops on the glomeruli, which filters the kidneys.  

The glomeruli filter blood, removing the liquid that turns into urine and leaving behind protein.

The disease can happen on its own without a specified cause, known as Primary FSGS, or can be caused by infection, drugs or conditions such as diabetes, which is called Secondary FSGS.

Symptoms include swelling in the extremities due to fluid buildup in the body, high levels of fat in the blood resulting in high cholesterol, and high levels of protein in the urine and low levels in the blood.

There are few treatments available, but some include steroids to stop your immune system from attacking the glomuerli, ACE inhibitors and ARBs to stop protein loss, and diuretics to flush out the fluid buildup.  

If the condition becomes advanced, however, it can result in kidney failure. 

According to NephCure Kidney International, approximately 5,400 people are diagnosed with FSGS every year.

Kaden’s first transplant occurred when he was five years old, when his father donated the kidney, but his body rejected the new organ. 

‘[The disease] came back so badly that they had to remove it within five days of them putting it in, so that definitely didn’t go as planned,’ Kaden told Fox 5 Atlanta.

Kaden's first transplant occurred when he was five years old, when his father donated the kidney, but his body rejected the new organ. Pictured: Kaden

Kaden (pictured) had been on dialysis ever since and doctors told his family he was in need of a transplant from a living donor

Kaden’s first transplant occurred when he was five years old, when his father donated the kidney, but his body rejected the new organ. Kaden (left and right) had been on dialysis ever since and doctors told his family he was in need of a transplant from a living donor

Wilkinson said his biggest driving factor in deciding to see if he was a match was remembering how his own son beat kidney failure at age two 

Wilkinson said his biggest driving factor in deciding to see if he was a match was remembering how his own son beat kidney failure at age two 

Ever since then, Kaden had been on dialysis – first at home and then three times a week at a clinic as his condition grew worse.

Because of the severity of his disease, Kaden was unable to accept a deceased donor’s kidney and needed a living donor, promoting the family to create a Facebook page titled Kaden’s Kidney Search. 

Kidneys transplanted from a deceased donor don’t typically last as long as those from a living donor.

Deceased donor kidneys last about 10 years while living donor kidney last betwwen 15 and 20 years, according to Barnes Jewish Hospital.

However, it harder to find a match after already beginning dialysis, like Kaden, and when you’ve rejected an organ before.

In May, doctors contacted the Koebckes to let them know that a match had been found, but they were unable to know the donor’s identity due to HIPPA laws.

After the school year ended in June, Wilkinson paid a visit to the family’s home to check on Kaden and to reveal that he knew who the donor was.

‘He said: “Well, do you guys really wanna know?”‘ Kaden’s mother, Cami, told Fox 5.

‘And we said: “Yeah, we wanna know, we wanna thank him. And he’s like: “Well, it’s me.” And I mean it just, it was unbelievable.’

Wilkinson had been a close friend of the family’s for years. His son and Kaden are in the same grade and attended Cub Scouts together, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

Kaden said he was so overcome with emotion after finding out there was a match that he almost started crying, and added that he was excited to end dialysis. Pictured: Kaden, far right, with his parents and sister

Kaden said he was so overcome with emotion after finding out there was a match that he almost started crying, and added that he was excited to end dialysis. Pictured: Kaden, far right, with his parents and sister

Both surgeries took place on Tuesday and the families say that both Kaden and Wilkinson are recovering well 

Both surgeries took place on Tuesday and the families say that both Kaden and Wilkinson are recovering well 

But according to Wilkinson, the biggest driving factor was that his own son once suffered from kidney failure.

‘My son was actually in kidney failure when he was two-and-a-half,’ he told Fox 5. ‘So, I remember being in that position as a parent wanting someone to help.’

Kaden said he was so overcome with emotion after finding out there was a match that he almost started crying and added that he ws excited to end dialysis. 

‘I’ve had to be on dialysis for about 10 years now, and it’d really be awesome to live a normal life and not have to live life hooked up to a machine,’ he told Fox 5.

Wilkinson’s family told the Journal Constitution that his surgery took place at Emory University Hospital on Tuesday and he will be off work for about six weeks. 

Kaden’s implant also took place the same day at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston Hospital.

The sixth grader’s family posted an update on Facebook that he is recovering well and will remain in the hospital for a few weeks before going home.



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