Pastor to Gift Kidney to Church Member
December 27, 2017: An associate pastor of an Adventist congregation in British Columbia will be giving a church member one of his kidneys this coming January.
Pastor Mike Dauncey of Langley township-based Church in the Valley, is making the physical donation to west Abbotsford resident, Florencio (June) Ancheta. On top of being one of his parishioners, Ancheta is also a close family friend of Dauncey’s.
The two men have been good friends since 2010. Ancheta was diagnosed with kidney deterioration in September 2015 and had to stop working by December that year.Kidney disease runs in Ancheta’s family. His father died of the disease at 35 and his older brother passed away from the same condition at 45. Ancheta was told by his physician that his kidney is like a 90-year-old’s.
Although Ancheta was on the kidney donation list, he was encouraged to look for a live donor as the wait for a kidney donor of type ‘O’ blood was about four to five years. Three potential donors that the family had researched had not worked out
The Aldergrove Star reports that Ancheta was notified about six weeks ago about an anonymous donor who was going to contact him about donating a kidney. Pastor Dauncey shared the news with Ancheta at a family meal. “It was an emotional moment, for sure,” said Dauncey.
The kidney transplant is scheduled for January 10, 2018 at St. Paul’s hospital in Vancouver.
“I’m not giving my life to him; I’m giving him a part of my life,” Dauncey said. “It all goes back to what God said. That’s the inspiration. Jesus, when he was on this Earth, taught us to live for others, to give. That was what his whole message was: to give to others.”
Dauncey encourages others to become donors as well: “In my case, as a living donor, I will be able to see the difference and that’s rewarding.”
Ancheta expressed his gratitude for what he sees as a whole new life. “When I heard that he’s the one who is donating the kidney, I was speechless. No words explain it.”