A rare ten-person kidney donation chain in Houston pairs five living donors with five recipients in need of a life saving kidney transplant. Michael Wingard of Kerrville, Texas, wanted to donate his kidney to save the life of his friend, Kaelyn Connelly. Wingard wasn’t a match for her, but his generosity made it possible for a ten-person donation chain to save five lives.
The uncommon ten-person procedure took place recently over a four-day span at Houston Methodist Hospital. The complexity of kidney swap of this size is tough to organize and was postponed three times, but the actual procedures are routine for the hospital’s doctors who perform hundreds of kidney transplants each year.
Just two days after Wingard and Connelly’s successful transplant, eight of the ten strangers gathered in a conference room at the hospital. The recipients who’d been given a second chance at a normal life and their families thanked the donors and everyone got to know each other. Lisa Jolivet, whose kidney went to Connelly, is happy to be part of the chain that helped her mother get a kidney. "It's surreal. I mean we're all different ages, different walks of life," Jolivet says. "Just to be able to prolong her life is just amazing."
Source: NPR
Photo: Getty Images