Guest post by Cathy Bavaro, living kidney donor.
It was just about a year ago now when I heard my brother Joey say the words, “My doctor is putting me on the Kidney Transplant List.” It was on of the scariest things I had ever heard. What was even scarier to me was the possibility that I may not be a match to give my brother a kidney. All I knew in my heart was if I was lucky enough to be a match, I would be giving my brother my kidney so that this nightmare could be over.
Some family members were ruled out automatically for different reasons, which only left me and my other brother as possible matches. In early May 2014, we went to The Mount Sinai Hospital to for some simple testing to determine who would be a match. Waiting for the results was agonizing! The call finally came informing me that I was indeed a match. Furthermore, I was not just any match, but an identical match. All I remember was crying on the phone that day when my coordinator, Elaine told me the results. I was so happy that my family’s prayers had been answered.
Now, it was REAL. The process began with a day of appointments and testing at the hospital to make sure that I was healthy enough for surgery. Elaine called to inform me that I had been cleared for surgery, and that Joey and I should think about when we wanted to schedule the procedure. I couldn’t believe it.
On the morning of of July 1, 2014 my whole family sat in the waiting room while Joey and I were underwent the biggest surgeries of our lives. I have to admit that it was a bit nerve wracking, but I knew that we were in the most competent hands possible at Mount Sinai.
As we approach our one-year anniversary, both Joey and I are doing well. It has been an amazing experience and one of the greatest things I have accomplished as a human being, aside from giving birth to my children. I always assumed that the only way to give life to someone is by giving birth, but boy was I wrong! My brother and I were always very close, but now we have a different kind of bond that is almost unexplainable.
In our case, things worked out beautifully and both my team and Joey’s team at Mount Sinai were with us every step of the way. Organ donation is so important–you could be someone’s hero and you don’t even know it yet. Become an organ donor today!
Click here to learn more about the Zweig Family Center for Living Donation at the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai, or call 212-659-8096.