Doctors Find Kidney Problem in Columbus Anchor

Longtime WCMH Anchor Colleen Marshall wanted to donate one of her kidney’s to her cousin

Marshall said, “My cousin Karen is on that waiting list. I wanted to be a living donor, giving her one of my kidneys so she could end dialysis and have a normal, healthy life again. But, something unexpected happened when I was tested to be a living kidney donor. Instead of me saving her, she is saving me.”

Turns out, doctors find that Marshall has a blockage that has already cost her 40% of her left kidney’s function.

Now, Marshall will be undergoing surgery to try and repair her kidney and will not be a donor to her cousin.

“We don’t have enough organs for people who need them, so people are dying on a waiting list, waiting to get a kidney or another organ,” said Marshall’s doctor Ronnie Abaza.

Dr. Abaza has performed kidney transplants. He calls them the most fulfilling and satisfying kind of surgery.

“Immediately, they have a huge dramatic change in their life, from having to go to dialysis center three times a week and sit there for hours and just feeling crummy all the time because they are in kidney failure. They really feel like a million bucks right away. Their life changes 180 degrees as soon as they get a kidney transplant. So, it really is the best thing that somebody can do for another human being is to donate a kidney,” said Abaza.

Marshall will be off the air for a bit while she recovers.

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