What better example of the insignificance of race on the things that really matter
I was touched by this story because it illustrates something much deeper than goodness but instead a race oneness we must hold on to in these times. It is a story that supersedes the daily bigotry by some who aspire to be president. In fact it makes them seem shallow and petty.
Jay Matuska had failing kidneys. He was engaged to Jackie Sitkowski. Matuska needed a kidney. Sitkowski was willing to donate her kidney but her kidney was not a compatible with Matuska’s genetics. Just before their wedding, they were informed of a potential dual kidney match. Jackie Sitowski was a match for the mother of Matuska’s kidney donor. Blake Underwood would donate his kidney to Jay Matuska. Jackie Sitkowski would donate her kidney to Chandra Underwood.
A week after the wedding, compatibility was confirmed. The surgeries were performed in Georgia and Wisconsin concurrently and the kidneys flown to each other. The kidneys are working perfectly in both recipients and both donors are doing fine.
In watching the piece, my thoughts immediately turned to the race of the recipients and donors more so than it should. In our recent climate where we have leaders stoking racial divisions, sometimes the subconscious cannot be pulled back from certain thoughts. The fact that the kidney of the white couple was incompatible with each other, and the kidney of the black mother and son was incompatible with each other, yet the kidneys were “inter-racially” compatible is an example of how shallow and insignificant our concentration on race really is.
I have always wondered how doctors and the ‘more educated’ unlike lay people could ever be racist except for the reality we must understand. Race is a construct used to allocate power and to create chaos where necessary for a few to hold on to power. These are realities we must enlighten our friends, families, neighbors, and acquaintances about. The power structure won’t. Why? The day that Appalachia, the ghettos, and the barrios realize they have more in common with each other than with those that continue to foment division, the reign of the plutocracy ends.
After watching the piece on TV, I tried to find it on the ABCNews site. It was not there but here is another touching story worth watching as well about a lung transplant recipient.