Ingeborg McIntosh and her son, Jordan, have a loving bond that is evident for all to see. This bond exists even though Jordan is not Ingeborg McIntosh’s birth son and even though the two of them are not of the same race. The strength of that bond was proven when Jordan secretly donated one of his kidneys to his ailing mother. Ingeborg McIntosh’s Challenge Adopting Jordan.
When Jordan was a child, he was placed into Ingeborg McIntosh’s foster home. Very quickly, a bond developed between the two of them that drove Ingeborg McIntosh’s to want to adopt Jordan. However, there were some roadblocks to that decision. One roadblock came from Jordan’s birth mother. She was adamant that her son be adopted by African-American parents or at least by biracial parents.
Not surprisingly, the feelings of Jordan’s mother are shared by many, including some adoption experts. Some believe that the only way that a child can develop a strong racial and cultural identity is if they are adopted into a family where at least one of their parents is of the same race or nationality as they are. However, there are many other experts who strongly believe that the race of the child should have no bearing on selecting a family for the child. According to these experts, the only thing that really matters is that they are in a loving family that can meet the child’s needs. The loving bond that exists between Jordan and his mother seem to support the opinions of these latter experts.
Interestingly, as the number of Caucasian children that are available for adoption in the United States has dwindled, transracial and transcultural adoptions have increased. Another factor that has led to this is that many adoption agencies that place Caucasian children will not allow parents over 40 to adopt, nor will they allow single parents to adopt. For Ingeborg McIntosh, race did not factor in the scenario. She is quoted as saying that when, “they placed Jordan into her arms, it was love at first sight.”
She was determined that he was going to be part of her family regardless of what it took. After a four year battle and an attempt by the adoption agency to place Jordan with an African-American family, it became clear that Jordan was already where he belonged. Mom Needs a Kidney Transplant Flash forward two decades later and Jordan learns that his mother is suffering from polycystic kidney disease. Jordan realizes that now it is his turn to show the same love and devotion to his mother that she showed to him when he was just a baby. It is very clear that his desire to help his mother didn’t stem merely from a sense of duty but instead from love.
When Jordan speaks about the kindness of his mother, he can but stop himself from crying. When Jordan heard about his mother’s illness, he secretly put a plan into motion. First, he did tests to see if his kidneys would be compatible with his mother’s. This included taking a blood test and doing tissue typing and cross matching tests. To his surprise and pleasure, Jordan found out that he was a match for his mother. Jordan says that he felt like it was his life calling to help his mother in this way. While his mother was reluctant to accept his kidney, Jordan was adamant in saying that he hopes that he can do even more for his mother as he gets older, but right now it was the least that he could do. This was his way of showing his appreciation for everything that she had done for him since he was a kid until now.