Kidney Donor and Recipient Doing Well: Man Donated Organ To Wife's Ex-Husband

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Kidney Donor and Recipient Doing Well: Man Donated Organ To Wife's Ex-Husband


BY MELISSA PIONZIO, mpionzio@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
September 2, 2011

CANTON — Kim Leopard said Thursday afternoon that both her husband and her ex-husband were doing well after a kidney transplant earlier in the day at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Her husband of less than a year, Steve Leopard, donated a kidney to her ex-husband, Jeff Laviero of Bristol.

Laviero was an active rock climber and hiker before a medical condition took both his kidneys. The 46-year-old's condition significantly curtailed the outdoor activities that he enjoyed with his daughters Brianna, 16, and Katie, 18.

It was the thought of the girls that prompted Steve Leopard to get tested as a possible kidney donor for Laviero. Leopard, whose own daughters from his first marriage are similar in age to Brianna and Katie, said that his stepdaughters needed their father.

He also said that the idea of helping Jeff was a great feeling and that when he learned his kidney was a match, there was no question that he would donate it.

"It's going to create a special bond between us for the rest of our lives," Leopard, 51, said Wednesday. "It sounds like a bigger deal than I think it is. I know it's a good thing, but it makes me feel so good."

Kim Leopard, who lives in the Collinsville section of Canton with Steve and her daughters, said Thursday afternoon that her husband was resting comfortably in his hospital room. Jeff was still in recovery, she said, but was expected to be settled in his own room soon.

Before the procedure Thursday, the two men kept in touch by e-mail and phone calls, counting down the days. Laviero said they had a running joke that they would "have races in the hallways with our IVs and drive the nursing staff crazy!"

http://www.ctnow.com/health/connecticut/hc-kidney-transplant-update-0902-20110902,0,4207968.story