At age 72, Carol McCabe went into kidney failure. There was a 7-year waitlist for a deceased donor kidney and her life expectancy on dialysis was 3 1/2 years. Her husband, Jon, donated a kidney through Loyola Medicine’s Living Kidney Donor Program. “I’m pretty sure my kidneys will outlast both of us,” he said.
Kidney Transplant News
Brooklyn woman gets husband a special Valentine’s Day gift — a new kidney
Vincent Scafuri already had his wife’s heart, and now he has her kidney as well. Because Griselda Espina wasn’t able to donate her kidney directly to Vincent, she donated through the NKR’s Voucher Program. Vincent cashed in the voucher for a compatible kidney on Valentine’s Day, just in time for the couple’s first anniversary.
A Florida woman donated her kidney and found love
Hayley Milks was in a Miami hospital room, high on morphine and down one kidney, when she met her future husband. He sat by her bedside and thanked her. Her organ donation had just saved his brother’s life.
Unexpected donor gives woman kidney
Carolyn Difabrizio, 51, had Stage 5 kidney disease and was desperate for a donor. One day, a regular customer at the Steak Em-Up shop where she works handed her a carton of creamer and asked if there was anything else he could do for her. She joked: “Do you have an extra kidney?” He did.
Daughter saves mom’s life twice by donating her liver, kidney
When Julia Harlin’s liver began failing, her only option for survival was a liver transplant. Her daughter Eileen was a match, and donated a portion of her liver on Aug. 16, 2022. Unfortunately, Julia’s kidneys also began to fail. Again, Eileen was a match, and she donated her kidney on Dec. 19, 2023.
National Kidney Registry’s personalized website sharing stories of those in search of live donors
Jennyl Thomas needs a kidney transplant and is on a waiting list for a deceased donor kidney, but the wait time in Georgia can be 3–6 years. About 18 months ago, she heard about the NKR’s microsite program, which lets people searching for a living donor create a personalized website to share their story.
Iowa City woman donates kidney through ‘swap’ program to help Dubuque teen
On January 4, Kathi Anderson, 54, of Iowa City, donated her right kidney for Christopher Turnis, 19, of Dubuque. But Turnis actually got someone else’s kidney, which is exactly how the National Kidney Registry works.
Arizona man finally meets kidney donor who saved his life
When Frank Pompa went into kidney failure in 2019, his sister, Joely Sanders, wanted to donate but wasn’t a match. She still wanted to help, and ended up donating her kidney to another man in Illinois. That man’s wife donated her kidney to Frank. In January, the four met in person for the first time.
Lockport family virtually meets kidney donor from Arizona, reunite with Oak Lawn medical team
Tony Gonzalez, received a kidney from Joely Sanders in October after his wife, Tracey, donated one of her kidneys to Sanders’ brother, Frank Pompa. The two pairs met virtually for the first time and expressed their shock at the similarities between the two men’s stories.
A voucher for a kidney: Is the transplant voucher program right for you?
The American Kidney Fund talked with the chief strategy officer from the National Kidney Registry and a living donor transplant coordinator from Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta to help you answer this question.