HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A South Florida father got a second chance at life thanks to a kidney donated by his own daughter, and the procedure for the transplant was groundbreaking.
James Emmanuel says he is grateful for his clean bill of health, three months after his kidney transplant in December.
“I know God was with me all along,” he said.
But the road leading up to the procedure was tumultuous.
Emmanuel remembers that fateful day in January 2025 when a heart attack brought his life to a standstill.
It’s the same day he learned his kidneys were failing too.
“I was really worried about my life,” he said.
Emmanuel stayed patient during a year of dialysis, waiting on the national kidney transplant list for a donor.
His daughter pressed through with determination, posting on social media for help and she leaned on her faith.
“I didn’t really want to worry him, so I didn’t tell him that I was going through the process or anything like that, because I knew the first thing he would say would be no,” Gaelle Merryman said.
Then, in early December, she learned she was a match.
Just a few days before Christmas, she successfully donated her kidney to her father.
“By somebody donating to your loved ones, you’re not only saving one life, but you’re also saving another life,” said Dr. Adarsh Vijay, surgical director of the Abdominal Transplant program at the Memorial Transplant Institute.
Vijay performed the transplant procedure. His team is committed to delivering excellent patient care and the hospital recently integrated a new device in the operating room -- a robot called the da Vinci 5.
“The robot has been a revolution,” Vijay said.
Robotic surgery is considered cutting edge as it can create smaller incisions, cutting down recovery time for patients.
Patients are able to go home in two to three days and get back to their regular life in a week or two, Vijay said.
Vijay explained how the robot works – not performing on its own, but being led and guided by the surgeon.
This is the first time that a robot has been used in South Florida to perform a robotic kidney transplant.
“Less than 5% of the hospitals across the nation are capable of performing a kidney transplant robotically,” Vijay said.
Emmanuel said he is thankful for his renewed outlook on life and grateful for his daughter and the team at Memorial Regional Hospital who made it possible.
“If you could at least benefit one more person, make them feel the way I did, I’m down,” he said.
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