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‘Kidney twins are doing great’ after life-altering operation

Mike Dauncey donated kidney to parishioner who would otherwise face dialysis for rest of his life
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Abbotsford resident Florencio (June) Ancheta is forever grateful to his friend Mike Dauncey, the associate pastor at Langley’s Church in the Valley, after Dauncey donated a kidney to him. The kidney transplant procedure took place Jan. 10 at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Submitted photo

For the rest of his life, Florencio (June) Ancheta will carry a piece of his friend, and pastor, Mike Dauncey with him.

The associate pastor at Langley’s Church in the Valley, Dauncey donated one of his kidneys to Ancheta last week.

It was a potentially life-altering transplant operation for Ancheta, an Abbotsford resident who was diagnosed with kidney deterioration in September 2015, and was forced to stop working that December.

This caused the family great anxiety, as did the fact that Ancheta’s dad died at the age of 35 and his older brother died at 45 from the same disease, according to Dauncey’s sister, Dayna.

On Jan. 6, 2016, Ancheta’s doctor told him that he had to start dialysis or he would die.

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After discovering he was a suitable donor for Ancheta, Dauncey happily made the sacrifice.

If this transplant didn’t happen, Ancheta would have faced being on continuous dialysis for the rest of his life. This would mean three hospital trips each week for the procedure, severely limiting his ability to work or travel very far.

Dialysis, explained Ancheta, is the process of cleaning a patient’s blood.

Dauncey is happy to make what he considers a small sacrifice that will make a big difference for his friend.

“I’m not giving my life to him; I’m giving him a part of my life,” Dauncey said. “It all does 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.”

On Jan. 13, Dauncey’s sister Dayna reported that the “transplant happened on Wednesday (Jan. 10) and the kidney twins are doing great.”

The operation was done at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.