Blair Juniper

The Juniper family said they would do it all over again for their son, Blair, who has had three kidney transplants. Blair's mother, father and brother all have been kidney donors. For Blair, he hopes the third will be the "charm." Left to right are Jeff, Blair, Vanessa and Dave.

The spirit of giving took on new meaning around the holidays for a closely knit and generous family from Tucson, Ariz.

Blair Juniper, barely on the crest of his 30th birthday, is recovering from his third kidney transplant surgery since age 17. His challenging odyssey over the past decade involving dialysis and now three kidneys has been an all-in-the-family affair. His third (and what Blair hopes is a "keeper" for some time) kidney was donated by his brother, Jeff, 30, on Dec. 5, 2006, at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

His first kidney was donated in 1995 by his mother, Vanessa, who admits she had to convince her husband Dave (Blair's dad) that she wanted to submit to the surgery. In fact, Vanessa and Dave confess it was a bit of an "argument" as to who would be their son's donor. In the end, the medical decision favored Vanessa, who was able to take time off to heal.

At first, Vanessa said she watched her son deteriorate at age 17 and wondered why he didn't have the energy of his peers. "I thought he was a lazy teen at first," she admits. She was wrong. Following surgery, Blair's energy soared, and despite all he had been through, including holding the dubious honor of being the youngest person at his dialysis center, he graduated from high school on time, with his class, in Tucson.

Vanessa's kidney supported Blair for five years and then, in 2000, it became obvious that yet another donor for him was needed. This time Dave got his way and was tested and approved to be his son's second donor. Dave said that having seen his son struggle on dialysis was difficult, and that being his donor was pretty much a "nobrainer."

In fact, all three family members who have donated to Blair agree they would "do it again" if it were medically possible.

They say that because the reality looms that this third kidney may not be the last for 29-year-old Blair. He suffers from a rare (and obviously not congenital) kidney disease known as IgA nephropathy, characterized by an abnormal buildup of a protein that eventually damages the kidneys by prohibiting the kidney filters from processing waste material.

The family holds out hope, however, that this third kidney, from Jeff, will be the charm — at least for a number of years. Jeff was obviously considered healthy enough to be a potential donor because he is in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in Sacramento, Calif. To hold that designation, Jeff was required to be in top physical shape. When it reached the point that Jeff could no longer tolerate seeing Blair endure more dialysis three times a week that left him weak and debilitated, he sought an okay to take leave to be his brother's donor. It was no easy task — Jeff had to write a letter requesting the leave that he said needed to go "up the chain" and be scrutinized before approval was granted.

In the end, the Coast Guard granted Jeff's leave and he told his mom, "I want to do this." Then he affirmed for Blair, "Let's get it done." Jeff, who prepared physically for his surgery to donate a kidney by exercising and losing weight, was released from the hospital in less than two days following the laparoscopic kidney removal.

Blair, who within days felt great with his new kidney, says, "It's so awesome to be off dialysis. My skin is pink again." He also does not hesitate to say he feels "alive again" and humbled just to think of the multiple gifts he has been given by his family.

This story first appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of Transplant Trends.