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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, January 23, 2014 | 6 Two years later, she has a new kidney, baby and a dream by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" A n Oakville mother points to her healthy baby boy as an example of what can happen when someone decides to make an organ donation. Jennifer Malabar, 39, gave birth to her son Sage Malabar-Patel on Nov. 24, 2013. The date holds great signi cance to Malabar. Not only is it her wedding anniversary, but two years ago on that day her husband, Hitesh Patel, gave her the ultimate gift by donating one of his kidneys to her. "Sage wasn't due until Dec. 10, so he came early to surprise us on our big family day, (the one) every big event happens on," said Malabar, a Crown Counsel with Ontario's Ministry of Labour. The journey that led to Malabar receiving her husband's kidney began about ve years ago when she was pregnant with their rst child, Arya, now 4. It was then she learned about a disease called IgA nephropathy that was slowly shutting down her kidneys. At the time of diagnosis, her kidney function was at 50 per cent. The disease progressed quickly and Malabar was faced with a choice: go on dialysis or undergo a kidney transplant. As she noted during a previous interview with the Oakville Beaver, neither option was attractive as the wait time for a kidney transplant (from a deceased donor) was about eight years. Malabar was also concerned about dialysis, fearing it would interfere with her job and make having another child dif cult. Her doctors decided to take a different route and began testing Malabar's friends and family to see if any of them could serve as a living donor. Her husband was found to be a match and without hesitation offered up a kidney. Because the date of the transplant coincided with the date of their wedding, the family began to joke the kidney was an anniversary gift. "My dad asked (me) what am I going to get her next year?" said Patel in the previous interview. "How am I going to top a kidney?" Malabar said her husband's decision to be an organ donor had such an impact on their family's future and noted that signing an organ donor card can create so many other Right now, we have provincial registries, which means we only share organs within the province. There are organs that go to waste that could come here or go to other provinces. If there is a national registry, we are able to then share across the country. Obviously, that is something I would be interested in promoting. Oakville resident and kidney recipient Jennifer Malabar Newborn boy Sage Malabar-Patel with his mom, Jennifer Malabar, who received a kidney transplant thanks to a kidney donation by her husband and Sage's dad, Hitesh Patel. Today, Malabar is a proponent of increased organ donations and spearheaded formation of the Oakville Be A Donor group. | photo by David Lea ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) happy stories. "We require more registered organ donors. Each organ donor can save up to eight lives. There are people waiting every day for organs. There are people dying waiting for organs and that is not necessary when people could be saving those lives," said Malabar. "Organ donation really changes people's lives. He (Sage) would de nitely not be here if it weren't for the fact that I had the trans- plant. I would not have been able to have another child and there would be one less wonderful creature on the Earth." Malabar now also leads the Oakville Be A Donor organization. This group of Oakville residents has held numerous speaking events and challenges others to register as a donor after having a conversation about organ donation with their loved ones. The group appears to be having an impact as the number of Oakville residents now registered to be donors has climbed 1.03 per cent in the last quarter to 30.3 per cent. Across the province, approximately 22 per cent of citizens are organ donors. That average drops to just 13 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Malabar has also set her sights on running for the Liberal Party in the next federal election. "I care deeply about our healthcare system. The healthcare system saved my life and I care deeply about making sure this system is there for everyone who needs it," she said. "I feel we have been failing in ensuring the healthcare system has the funding it requires, especially with the aging population we have." Malabar said being an MP would also allow her to work towards the creation of a national organ donor registry. "Right now, we have provincial registries, which means we only share organs within the province," said Malabar. "There are organs that go to waste that could come here or go to other provinces. If there is a national registry, we are able to then share across the country. Obviously, that is something I would be interested in promoting." Editor's Note: This is the rst of a two-part series in which Oakville Beaver reporters are revisiting the local residents they wrote stories about when the people had organ transplants. Next week, the Beaver will check in with Keith Childerhose, who had a double lung transplant last year. NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 52 | Number 10 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. 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