Mankato, MN — Minnesota State University, Mankato President Richard Davenport is scheduled for kidney transplant surgery today, Nov. 23, at Fairview-University Medical Center, Minneapolis.
Davenport is expected to have the surgery this morning, with Dr. David Sutherland leading the medical team. The transplant procedure has been planned since earlier this month, and is expected to be completed early this afternoon.
In September Davenport told the MSU community he has a kidney disorder that causes slow deterioration of the kidney function. Doctors at the University of Minnesota Hospitals told Davenport that to remain healthy, he would need a transplant or kidney dialysis in the near future.
After Davenport?s announcement, several potential donors came forward. One of them ? Ginny Fitzloff, an administrative assistant in the President?s Office ? tested as a ?match,? and Fitzloff agreed to donate a kidney to Davenport.
?I am grateful to Ginny for her generous act of benevolence,? Davenport said. ?She is a strong advocate of organ donation; she knows it is a compassionate way to help another human being; and she knows from personal experience that it is a safe and reliable procedure.?
Fitzloff was on a list of potential kidney donors in the past. In 1998 she was inspired to enlist as a donor by her stepfather, who suffered kidney failure and learned he had been living with only one kidney. In 2001 she started the process to be considered as a potential donor in South Dakota, where she lived.
Early this year she and her husband, Daniel, were engaged to be married. Daniel had donated a kidney to his mother in 1978, and Ginny wanted to be able to donate to him if the need should arise, so she removed her name from the list. Later she discovered that she couldn?t donate to Daniel because their blood types aren?t the same. So they agreed that Ginny would seek out a new donor list after they married and she moved to Minnesota.
She came to Mankato in July, and she began working in the President?s Office. When Fitzloff read Davenport?s announcement about his kidney disorder, her decision to offer a kidney was almost pre-ordained.
?After reflecting back on my father, and having the opportunity to see life after donation with my husband, it was not a difficult decision,? she said. ?It?s a way that I can help someone, a way to express my Christianity. My husband?s kidney function is excellent, and I am confident that I will recover completely.?
After the surgery both Davenport and Fitzloff will be hospitalized for several days. When he?s released, Davenport will stay near the hospital for up to two weeks for daily testing. When he returns to Mankato, he will stay at home, recuperating for several weeks before returning to his duties as MSU president. His progress will be monitored by his local nephrologist, Dr. Rolf Storvick, and the transplant team from Fairview-University.
Chancellor James H. McCormick has appointed MSU Vice President for Academic Affairs Scott Olson to serve as acting president while Davenport recovers.
?We have a highly capable team,? Davenport said of the MSU staff and faculty. ?I have great confidence in all of our administrative, faculty and staff leaders. Scott?s transition to Acting President will be a smooth one.
?Each vice president has willingly taken on additional responsibilities while I?m recovering. The University will continue to be energized, and our initiatives will go forward. We will continue to strengthen our academic programs, our teaching, our community and state partnerships, our alumni relationships, and our impact on Minnesota?s quality of life.?
The prognosis for Davenport?s quick recovery is excellent. ?The University of Minnesota Hospitals are among the world?s leading transplant centers. I have complete confidence in their medical teams. I will be healthy soon, and in the meantime MSU will continue its strong momentum without missing a beat.?
University of Minnesota surgeons at Fairview-University Medical Center have performed more than 3,000 living donor organ transplants ? more than any other transplant center in the world. Since the program began in 1963, University surgeons have performed nearly 6,000 kidney transplants.
More than half of the 200 kidney transplants performed each year at Fairview-University utilize living donors. In 1997, University of Minnesota surgeons were the first to transplant all intra-abdominal organs from living donors.
Davenport was appointed president of MSU in 2002. Before that he was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Mich., and was graduate school dean and associate vice president for academic affairs at Western State College of Colorado, Gunnison. He also taught at the Winona Tri-College/University Cooperative Program (Winona State and St. Mary?s Universities and the College of St. Teresa), St. Cloud State University, and Iowa State University.
Email this article | Permanent link | Topstories news | Topstories news archives
Minnesota State
University, Mankato
Mankato, MN 56001
1-800-722-0544
© 2005-2013 Minnesota State University, Mankato. Minnesota State University, Mankato is a member of
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system and an affirmative action/equal opportunity university.
