Daughter, 27, Would Be Recipient : Tests Find Garn Able to Donate Kidney

Sen. Jake Garn underwent tests on Friday and said doctors found him a good candidate to donate a kidney to a diabetic daughter whose kidneys are failing.

“I’d be very happy and proud to help her. I have absolutely no qualms,” said Garn, adding that the operation could take place as soon as a week, or as long as several months from now. “Any other father or mother would feel the same,” he said.

Garn, a Republican seeking a third term as Utah’s senior senator, reported to the University of Utah’s Health Sciences Center early Friday after being told the condition of his daughter, Susan Garn Horne, 27, had worsened.

Her Kidneys Failing

He would not provide details, saying only that “she does face total kidney failure.”

Horne suffers from progressive kidney failure and is being treated at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, where the transplant would take place, Laurie Snow, Garn’s press secretary, said.

Garn underwent a renal arteriogram, a test that consists of injecting a needle into the femoral artery and pumping dye into the kidney for X-rays.

Dr. Wayne A. Border, chief of nephrology at the university, said the senator has an “absolutely normal and healthy kidney in terms of anatomy and function.”

Garn said his two sons and a second daughter also have been tested to determine whether they are suitable donors. He said Susan’s sister was not a match, but the two brothers likely would be suitable donors.

Garn, who last year became the first civilian to ride the space shuttle, left the hospital late Friday to begin a vacation with family members in Sun Valley, Ida., aides said.