Anne TootillThe Kidney Cult
March 30th 2008 10:36
Ashwyn Falkingham flew to Cyprus to donate his kidney to a stranger, despite his mother's protests he was being unduly influenced by a religious sect.
This one's got me stumped. I would love to think that people could be so altruistic that they would give a fellow human being one of their kidneys and this seems to be the case with the Jesus Christians. Mr McKay, the cult leader seems to be fair dinkum, he's already given one of his kidneys away. Then there is that dirty word money. Some former members have criticised the group for cutting them off from their families and taking their money and assets. If they are doing good works, which appears to be the case, they need to resolve this rumour pronto.
Life-giver... Donor Ashwyn Falkingham visits Sandi Sabloff in her hospital bed shortly after the transplant in Cyprus.
THE Jesus Christians, otherwise known as the Kidney Cult, have a golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Ashwyn Falkingham, 23, is now recovering after proving his merit to the sect's leaders by donating one of his kidneys to a Canadian woman he met online.
Mr Falkingham, of Sydney, flew to Cyprus to give a kidney to Sandi Sabloff almost a year after a Toronto hospital refused to get involved.
The devoted member of the Jesus Christians said he and Ms Sabloff, a 65-year-old retiree who battled kidney failure for 18 years, were a near perfect match, with their organ compatibility rated at greater than mother and son.
"That's a really good indicator that the kidney will function really well," he said from the Cypriot capital of Nicosia.
"It seems a bit unreal at the moment. It'll take a while to sink in that it's finally happened. I feel really good that it went so well. It's really touching to see the difference it's making already."
Ms Sabloff's partner, Jane Murray, praised Mr Falkingham, saying he had given the gift of life. "She used to be cold all the time; now she's warm. She used to be yellow; now she's pink," Ms Murray said.
"I am absolutely excited to think of her having a healthy future."
Mr Falkingham and Ms Sabloff were devastated when their first attempt at the transplant was cancelled after objections from Mr Falkingham's mother, Cate Croft.
Ms Croft, of Enfield, told the Toronto hospital her son had not made the decision of his own free will but had been unduly influenced by the cult and its leader, David McKay, of Waterloo.
She went to Cyprus after a surgeon contacted her to tell her of the pending operation, but was uncontactable yesterday.
Yesterday Mr McKay said kidney donation was not compulsory for Jesus Christians but it was a great way to put the "golden rule" into action.
"Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. If you were sick wouldn't you like someone to donate a kidney?"
Mr McKay said he had donated a kidney to an American man in 2002 and 19 of the world's 25 Jesus Christians had also donated.
More people should consider donating a kidney because it was a relatively simple way to change someone else's life, he said.
The Jesus Christians shun worldly possessions and paid work, instead surviving on donations and scavenged food.
He said he and his wife, Cherry, were among just seven Jesus Christians in Australia. They survived on her pension and lived below their means so they had cash left over to fund the group's education activities in Kenya.
A NSW Health spokeswoman said altruistic kidney donations were allowed in the state as long as they were genuine and not for profit.
Faithful ... kidney donor Ashwyn Falkingham (right) with Jesus Christians founded Dave McKay.
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Gaye Land
I am going to be totally honest and tell you that when it comes to organ donations my brain tells me one thing and my heart tells me another, and therein lies the problem. I would give my kidney, not sell, to someone if they needed it, even though my family joke that my body is so racked with nicotine nobody would want it !!! But I have one child, well not really a child, he is 25 and I adore him. If he wanted to give a kidney to someone I would be fine with that, but - if he died I really wouldn't want someone cutting him up. I know it's not what people want to hear but it's the honest truth. It's nothing to do with religion and I know it's not logical but I feel like he was perfectly born and I can't bear the thought of him not being whole. Yes I know it sounds insane, and believe me he would help anybody he could but in my mind I imagine that if bits of him are taken away then he's not there anymore, I don't know how else to explain it. Even dead, I want my whole child, not bits of him. So maybe that's why a lot of people don't give the organs of a loved one, maybe they are thinking the same thoughts and to afraid to say it, because they are frightened other people might not understand. I have thought about it a lot and they can have all of me if they want, but not my baby. That's the way a mother feels I think. I don't know if it's right or wrong, I just wanted to explain.
Comment by Anne Tootill
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