Donor Search Success Stories

Marc Weiner has two rules: take things one day at a time and don’t play the “what if” game. Since he was in his 20s, he has tried not to fall into the trap of wondering “what if this goes wrong.”

Todd Dostie was 21 when he first learned his kidney was failing and he would need a transplant. Eight years after his first transplant, he needed another one, but this time he faced a 100% rejection rate. Just before Christmas 2022, about 30 years after his first transplant, his doctors found a match.

Cindy McLean entered renal failure and started looking for a kidney donor 10 years ago. Heather Larkam heard about Cindy’s search, but couldn’t donate at the time. Ten years later, Heather found out Cindy still hadn’t gotten a transplant and reached out to help. The two are a perfect match.

Tim Letts, a US Army veteran who was an Uber driver in New Jersey, went out of his way to help a 73-year-old man, Bill Sumiel, who needed kidney transplantation. Tim met Bill when Bill called for an Uber to get home from his regular treatment at the dialysis centre.

After more than 20 years of battling kidney disease, Essex Tech masonry teacher David Collins learned that his life depended on finding a donor. Nearly 100 people signed up to be screened, but the ideal kidney match came from an unexpected source: his boss.

Amanda Hayhurst had no intention of being a kidney donor until she read Vonchelle Knight’s story. While at her oldest son’s tae kwon do class, Hayhurst spotted a sign that read “please help us save our mom.”

When Debbie Kooker received a new kidney, she had no idea who the donor was. Her donor,Kara Wallace, is only 20 years old. Her family has been close to Debbie’s family for decades, and Kara knew her gift had to be top secret because Debbie would have tried to talk her out of it.

When Ira Hadnot needed a kidney transplant, her brother, Kelvin, wanted to donate but couldn’t. Kelvin’s boss, Gina Micheli, told Kelvin she wanted to be Ira’s donor. “He didn’t ask her, we didn’t put up a billboard, we didn’t go on TV,” Ira exclaimed. “She just stepped forward and volunteered, and it was a match!”

It was during the Lenten season in 2022 that Dr. Christine Gaynier received an email from a longtime friend of her mother. The message was about the friend’s 17-year-old son, Will, who needed a kidney transplant and was looking for a donor. Gaynier, a local family medicine physician, wanted to help.

After months of driving around the city with an advertisement for a kidney donor on her bright red car, Debbie Onishenko will soon be able to rip off the decals as her search has ended.