The 58-year-old wife and grandmother has Type 1 polycystic kidney disease and now has only about 10% kidney function. For more than a year, she has been undergoing dialysis treatments three times a week.
"We usually go to the coast or we'll go to the mountains but we can't do that when she's on dialysis, cause she has to do it three times a week," said her husband, Ronnie Bland.
Merri was placed on the national kidney registry list in March, where patients in California can wait up to 12 years for a donation. During that time, she said she followed a routine familiar to many others in her situation.
"I was just doing my dialysis and waiting for a kidney like everyone else," Merri Bland said.
That changed when the couple learned about a paired kidney exchange program, which allows donors and recipients who are not compatible matches to swap with other pairs.
"...there's a paired exchange swapping program," Merri Bland said.
She joined the donor swapping list about a month ago, and within weeks, the couple received promising news.
"Within two weeks after I was on the list, they called and said we have a match," Merri Bland said.
Under the arrangement, Ronnie Bland will donate his kidney to another patient, allowing his wife to receive a compatible organ from a different donor.
"So, my husband is going to give his kidney to someone that needs one and, in turn that moves me way up on the list to get a kidney that's a better match for me," Merri Bland said.
Ronnie Bland said the decision to donate was an easy one.
"Any other spouse would probably do it. It's special to me to get her off dialysis and get her back to having a normal life again," he said.
The couple, married for 35 years, is scheduled to undergo the transplant procedures this week at Stanford University. Each surgery is expected to last between four and five hours.
"I could help somebody else and help my wife at the same time," Ronnie Bland said.
For Merri Bland, the experience has been emotional as she prepares for the life-changing operation.
"I'm getting someone's kidney and his kidney is going to someone. I'm just so very grateful. I just can't say thank you, enough," she said.
After the surgeries, the couple plans to remain in Palo Alto for about six weeks to recover. They have also organized a GoFundMe campaign to help cover housing, travel and recovery expenses.
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