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| Contact: Christine Hill 612-873-5719 |
04/14/08 |
The Kidney Transplant Program at Hennepin County Medical Center will be recognized at a fundraiser to benefit local transplant recipient and actress Janet Paone. Paone has appeared in numerous productions, including "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," "Church Basement Ladies 2," and "A Cocktail at Porters." One of Paone's co-stars in a local summer production of "Fiddler on the Roof" heard about her need for a kidney, and readily offered one of his.
"I thought he was kidding," explains Paone of Northwest pilot, actor and kidney donor John Vaughn, "but he wasn't. He went ahead and completed all of the preliminary testing, and I found out that he was a match!"
"Prior to her transplant, Janet was facing the reality of requiring kidney dialysis for the rest of her life," says Hennepin transplant surgeon Mark Odland, MD. "John's willingness to donate changed all of that; however, currently there are approximately 1,482 Minnesotans waiting for a kidney transplant who would also benefit from a donor who is a friend or relative."
Thanks to Vaughn's generous gift, Paone is back on stage and feeling great in the latest production of "Church Basement Ladies 2."
On Monday, April 21 "The Kidney Kabaret" benefiting the Janet Paone Transplant Fund will take place at the Foss Center at Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis. Representatives from the Hennepin Kidney Transplant Program will be on hand to answer questions about kidney transplant and donation.
The event will feature a variety of performances by the Church Basement Ladies, Martini & Olive, Jim Cunningham, Those Lutheran Ladies, The Girls (Lori Dokken, Judi Donaghy, Patty Peterson and Erin Schwab), Tod Petersen, Drew Jansen & Jimmy Martin, Andrew Wilkowski, Tim Sparks, Dennis Curley & Katy Hays, the Irondale High School Drama Deaprtment and Christine Karki & David B. Young. To RSVP for the The Kidney Kabaret, go to janet.kidneykabaret@gmail.com.
Hennepin County Medical Center is a Level 1 Trauma Center and public teaching hospital repeatedly recognized as one of America's best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The centerpiece of Hennepin County's clinical health services, Hennepin County Medical Center offers a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient services, including its Transplant Center, which recently marked its 45th year of providing transplant services to patients and their families.
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