Kevin & Steven Liver Transplant

Kevin Kittleson and his wife Sarah currently live in Velva, ND, both are from the Douglas/Benedict areas. They have 2 children, Cooper (7) and Marlee (4).  Steve Kittleson and his wife Tia currently live in Benedict, ND with their 2 children, Mason (8) and Silas (1).

In 1999 when Kevin was 19 years old he discovered a swollen lymph node in his neck and had it removed and tested for cancer. It came back negative, however there was concern about his liver functionality based upon various testing results. He went through extensive testing locally before being sent to Mayo Clinic. At Mayo he was diagnosed with “primary schlerosing cholangitis”, which is a very rare disease of the liver/bile ducts. He was told at that time, he would need a liver transplant within 2 years. With the help of medicine, Kevin proceeded to live a fairly normal life until 2005 when he had his first noticeable complications with the disease. He’s continued to have more complications throughout the years and was officially put on Mayo’s liver transplant list November 2012. Fall of 2014 due to Kevin’s condition deteriorating, he was told by Mayo he should pursue a living donor if possible. The liver is one of the few organs that can regenerate. Kevin’s brother, Steve, who had previously been joking all these years he’d end up being the donor, stepped up to the plate and told Kevin it’s no longer a joke and he truly wanted to be the living donor. Steve and Kevin went through extensive testing at Mayo in February 2015 and Steve is a viable match for Kevin. The transplant is scheduled for April 29,, 2015, which will require at least a month long stay in Rochester with numerous follow-up visits.