Kidney transplant unites 3 relatives

JAY – Three relatives are embarking on a mission to save one of their lives in a kidney transplant operation in which one is the recipient, another the donor and the third an assistant in the operating room.

Lucien Castonguay of Livermore Falls is giving a kidney to his younger brother Marcel Castonguay of Jay on Sept. 25. Their cousin Michael Moreau of Hollis will assist as a member of the transplant team at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

It will be the second transplant for 40-year-old Marcel Castonguay. In 1985, his mother, Marguerite, gave him a kidney that lasted him 15 years. But his body started rejecting it in 1998, and he returned to dialysis the following year.

Marcel Castonguay was a sickly child, plagued with chronic colds and bedwetting. He was diagnosed at age 16 with sclerosing glomerulonephritis, a kidney disease that affects the blood vessels, Moreau said.

Lucien Castonguay, 41, offered one of his kidneys to his brother without being asked. He said he made the decision with his wife, Lynda, and offered it because he was a match.

Lucien’s kidney matched his brother’s type in four out of six human antigens used to determine compatibility in 1984. But because Lucien was in the U.S. Air Force, he was unable to donate.

Lucien says his cousin’s presence in the operating room makes him feel more comfortable.

“I’m not nervous,” Lucien said. “I might be on the day of the transplant, but I’m not right now.”

Marcel didn’t know his cousin would be part of the transplant team until he saw the list.

“I think having familiar faces is going to help a lot,” Marcel said.

Moreau is a certified physician assistant who works in vascular and transplant services in the surgery unit. He said technology developed since his cousin’s last transplant will make the operation less complicated and less painful and shorten the recovery time for both brothers.

Marcel says he’s relying on his faith in God, a positive attitude and his support team to get him through the ordeal.

He’s hoping that once he’s back on his feet, he’ll be able to return to his part-time job as an education technician within six weeks. His goal is to eventually become a certified teacher.

“I feel really good now, I can’t imagine how good it’s going to feel after the kidney transplant,” Marcel said.