- My name is Donna DeCrescenzo.
- April Capone.
- Jasleni Brito and I am a living donor.
- I am a living kidney donor.
- I am a living donor.
I donated my kidney to my son.
I think because he's my son,
there was no hesitation.
It was after the fact when you reflect
and you realize seeing the effect of the transplant,
seeing how his life changed,
it took on a whole ‘nother level of what a true gift it was.
- [Dr. Kulkarni] We've seen a rising need for people who require transplants.
We've now come to the understanding that the safe and ethical expansion of living organ donation
is really the solution to this health crisis.
There are many studies now that have come out
to suggest that recipients of living donors do far better
and that really has to do with, as our general population ages,
so does the popular in the deceased donor pool.
- Before my sister got sick, I didn't know that kidney exchange programs
or organ exchange programs were even a thing.
We have a huge family.
My dad has 11 brothers and sisters and my mom has 14.
The way that I ended up being the donor
was just because everyone was screened, none of us were compatible.
It was just easier for me to donate through the donor exchange program.
So my kidney went to Georgia
and then a kidney from Minnesota is now in my sister. [Laughs]
- Our waiting time for a kidney transplant in the state is up to 5-7 years.
When you have a living donor,
you can get a transplant 6 weeks after you're approved and your donor's approved.
Donating my kidney was the single best thing I've ever done with my life.
I came to be a living kidney donor.
It was altruistic directed donation,
which meant that I knew who the kidney was going to
but I didn't know the person well.
The donor that donated to my sister,
he's an altruistic donor.
He's just a stranger who got up one morning and said, 'I want to donate a kidney.'
It's really instilled in me this sense of paying it forward.
Not only did it bring my immediate family closer together,
but it really showed us how loved we are
and who's really there for us
and it was an overwhelming amount of generosity,
and of caring and of being there.
We were really lucky to have that.
- [Dr. Kulkarni] At the Center For Living Organ Donors,
we really think we need to start thinking outside the box.
What we are doing at the Center For Living Organ Donors
which is revolutionary and different than any other program in the country
is monitoring the health and wellness of our donors for life.
- The key, really, is to provide a platform of education, public awareness
and, most importantly, like we're doing, a lifelong commitment to everyone who donates their organ.
So, when they come forward to donate in an altruistic fashion,
they know they're not alone,
they know that they're going to have a network of other donor to support them
and they have a health institution that's in it for the long term.
So we're going to measure your blood pressure
and get you set up for a free laboratory testing.
We'll do this every single year.
We've taken an organ from a perfectly healthy individual
and we have a responsibility to make sure that that individual
leads a normal and healthy life.
That was really the main principal that we wanted to found this center on.
Our approach is to engage living donors locally
and we do it in local communities throughout Connecticut.
What we hope to do is have these local communities be the source of information
for people who are considering donation.
- My only wish is that I could do it again.
What we are aiming to do through this community is share the message.
- [Dr. Kulkarni] They want to volunteer their time, their knowledge,
their experience, to actually help increase public awareness.
- I was coming home from work one day and I met my neighbor.
She asked how I was feeling, she knew that we went in for surgery
and I said, "I'm feeling great! Danny's going great, he's back at school."
"Life's normal, life's good!"
She said, "my sister needs a kidney and she's needed one for two years"
She said, "so after hearing that you were feeling good,"
she said, "I'm giving my kidney to my sister. "
Never thought that just by talking about it,
you could inspire somebody else to say, "OK, well maybe it's not that scary."
The best gift of all is how, as a donor, you feel when your recipient wakes up
and they have a new normal.
- I feel like it's things like this that make you believe that miracles can really come true.
- Frankly, I think i have the best job in the world.
There's no other field in medicine dealing with living donors every single day,
individuals that constantly remind you that you can do more.
- We get to see the best of the people in our community.
People who come forward to donate part of themselves to help someone else.
That really is the best that humanity has to offer
and it's a privilege to be able to be part of that every day.