Commissioner Leon and the Court Recognize June 29, 2015 as Corporal Sergio Camacho Day
Commissioner Leon honored Corporal Sergio Camacho during Commissioners Court for his courageous and generous organ donation for a fellow employee, Lt. Michaela Hebeker, of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Corporal Camacho made the donation possible through the process of joining the kidney exchange program at the Texas Transplant Institute in San Antonio, where compatible donor and recipient pairs are matched. Corporal Camacho ultimately had a kidney removed which enabled Lt. Michaela Hebeker to receive a compatible kidney from a donor, giving her a chance to live a normal life with a working kidney.
Currently in the United States there are over 100,000 individuals waiting for a kidney transplant, with 3,000 new patients added to the list each month and twelve people dying each day waiting for a kidney donation. Out of 17,000 kidney transplants performed last year, only 5,535 came from living donors and 11,570 came from a deceased donor. An organ donation is the greatest gift that an individual may convey to another in need, and the number of people who may benefit from an organ replacement far outnumber the available organ donations.
The evaluation process entails blood labs, cardiology exams, EKG, ultrasounds, and psychosocial testing among other extensive exams, and often leaves the financial burden for travel and testing on the donor.
June 29, 2015 is recognized by the El Paso County Judge and Commissioners Court as “Corporal Sergio Camacho Day in honor of his courageous and generous organ donation for a fellow employee of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.”