Brothers Advocate for Kidney Donation Decades After Successful Transplant

When Demetrius Hammett received his new kidney – donated by his brother, Dexter – he estimated it would probably last him about 10 years. That was 27 years ago, in June 1997.

Today, 63-year-old Demetrius is healthy and shares his gratitude for his brother’s organ donation. “I think I know of only one other person who has had a kidney transplant that has lasted longer than mine,” he says proudly. “I guess it’s just one of those things, and my brother being a perfect match made all the difference.”

In 1993, Demetrius and his wife, Lisa, were living in Nashua, NH, when they consulted with a doctor about fertility options as they sought to have a second child. Demetrius, who was a seemingly healthy 37-year-old at the time, mentioned to the doctor his urine looked foamy when he went to the bathroom.

The physician recommended he see a nephrologist. After he saw a specialist and underwent testing, results revealed a shocking diagnosis: glomerulonephritis, a type of kidney disease that impedes the ability to remove waste and fluid from the body.

“I hadn’t heard of it,” recalls Demetrius. “But it didn’t take long for other symptoms to begin, approximately two years later. My blood pressure started going up, and I began feeling worse. Then, I got edema and started to swell up. My kidneys were shutting down.”

Demetrius sought treatment at Cleveland Clinic. Soon, he was added to the national organ donor registry, while also requiring regular peritoneal dialysis treatments to filter and remove waste and excess fluid.

The first time Dexter saw the numerous steps and vast array of equipment his brother required to undergo peritoneal dialysis at home or elsewhere, he immediately decided to get tested as a potential donor.

“It wasn’t hard to decide. He’s my brother,” explains Dexter, adding with a laugh, “As much as he can get on my nerves sometimes, I wanted to see him around a lot longer.”

At the time, Dexter was a stage and film actor. When Demetrius learned Dexter was a match, he chose to delay the procedure until his brother’s touring theater production went on hiatus. Soon after, on June 19, 1997, Dexter and Demetrius underwent successful transplant surgeries at Cleveland Clinic.

Since the Hammett brothers underwent their operations, new technologies, research and innovations have shortened recovery times and made surgeries less invasive for many donors and recipients. Those are advancements Dexter and Demetrius convey when talking with others about the benefits of being an organ donor.

It’s a commitment the brothers have pursued since recovering from their own surgeries 27 years ago. Demetrius and Dexter have been advocates for people – especially minority communities – to become educated regarding facts about kidney and organ transplantation.

Says Demetrius, “I encourage people to read up on the success of transplants, and the advancements in performing them. They should be sure to talk to others who have experienced it and educate themselves as much as they can. Then, they should do some soul searching about what a donation can mean to someone’s life.”

Organ donation advocacy is critically important, especially within minority communities, says Cleveland Clinic urologist and kidney transplant surgeon Alvin Wee, MD. Organs are not matched based on race and ethnicity. However, people will generally have a better match with someone from their family when it comes to living donors. 

According to statistics from Donate Life America, more than 60% of those waiting for transplants in the U.S. are from multicultural communities – with minorities incurring disproportionately higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease that can contribute to organ failure, especially with the kidneys. However, according to the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network, Dr. Wee says, only about 7% of living kidney donors are African American.

“Unfortunately, data tells us some groups of people, including African Americans, are at a higher risk for interstitial kidney disease that can lead to kidney failure,” says Dr. Wee, who is the director of Cleveland Clinic’s Kidney Transplant Program. “That’s why we encourage everyone, especially those in at-risk groups, to stay on top of their health, see their doctors regularly and live healthy.”

As to Demetrius’ long-term success with his transplanted kidney, Dr. Wee says there is typically a benefit from receiving a kidney from a living donor who happens to be a blood relative. “Those are one of the factors that favor longevity of a kidney. But we should also give credit to the patient, who has taken good care of his health for all these years after the transplant.”

Occasionally, Demetrius and Dexter celebrate their “kidney-versary” with fund- or awareness-raising activities on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation.

“We make it a point to share our experience with as many people as we can,” adds Demetrius. “We hope someone who hears us will decide to save a life.”