MIAMI – The donors and recipients of Florida's first four-way kidney exchange transplant met Thursday morning at the Miami hospital where the surgery was performed.
Kidney transplant recipients Bonnie Glover, Marilyn Huggins, John Russell and Taylor Kroeger were joined by donors Craig Glover, Randy Martinez, Patricia Russell and Deanna Kroeger, along with their doctors, as part of South Florida's paired kidney exchange program.
The procedure was performed April 9 at the Miami Transplant Institute at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The group included three sets of married couples and a mother-son pair.
In the procedure, one of the two gives up a kidney to help a stranger. Another donor then helps that person by donating his or her kidney.
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"This was just perfect," Deanna Kroeger said. "When I found out that I was able to help another family, and then this other family down here was able to help my son, it was a no-brainer."
Taylor Kroeger said he felt "amazing" immediately upon waking up from surgery.
Craig Glover didn't know what to expect. He said he hadn't undergone surgery as an adult, calling himself a "little bit of a chicken," but his wife was in need of a kidney.
"So, for her, I'd do anything," he said.
Doctors said performing the procedures with living donors means that patients no longer have to wait for a cadaver donor or be on dialysis because the surgery can be planned and the transplant can happen at any time.
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