After long search, rescue volunteer finds kidney donor match with colleague's wife

When search-and-rescue volunteer Michael Coyle went public with his need for a kidney he had no idea how long the search for a match would take — or that a match would be so close to hand.

The 49-year-old has lived almost half his life knowing that a rare genetic disease is riddling his kidney with cysts. 

After he told his story last year, about 20 people came forward to offer help, from as far afield as Yukon, Toronto and Nova Scotia. 

But it turned out his most viable match was with Jody Seki, the wife of one of his fellow Coquitlam Search and Rescue volunteers. Thanks to her, Coyle may have a kidney transplant as early as June.

"I think I sat with her at a Christmas party one year and we were talking about it. I think her husband mentioned to me, 'Oh, I think Jody wants to be tested.' Then I heard nothing until I heard we are a match. She didn't want to get my hopes up," said Coyle.

When he got the call telling him about the match, he was shaken.

"It's a very visceral emotion to know that a person is that giving. It's one thing to know what you need to be saved. But it's another when a person steps forward and does it," Coyle said.

Slowly 'fading'

Coyle discovered he had polycystic kidney disease (PKD) when he was 25.

He discovered his disorder by accident during search-and-rescue training, when he was found to have unusually high blood pressure. After many medical tests, he was told he had PKD — that his kidneys were growing cysts and would steadily decline.

In 2010, he says he transitioned into SAR management, doing less field work.

"I began to feel like I was a liability on rescues," said Coyle.

Coyle is still a fit, outdoorsy vegetarian who has continued to stay active as much as he can. But he says in recent months the disorder has made him feel like he's "fading" due to fatigue.

Seki is the first entirely viable match that's been found for Coyle since he was approved for a transplant in July 2018, and the discovery has come just in time.

Coyle's doctors have told him he needs a new kidney soon or he will have to start relying on dialysis treatment. A dialysis machine pumps a person's blood out for hours every week, removing waste, salt and extra water that build up in the body without functioning kidneys.

Coyle says he's not sure what his nine-year-old son thinks of the news, or if he realizes how much this could change Coyle's life. His partner, of course, is "very happy," he says.

"With the way kidney failure works, it's kind of like you fade a bit. You are tired and you can't do things. 

"My partner is joking that she has so many things for me to do when I get a new kidney."