N.Y. man who received Iowa woman's kidney dies

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N.Y. man who received Iowa woman's kidney dies

By Stephen Schmidt
The Gazette
January 15. 2008 11:47PM


When 25-year-old Jim Wilson Jr. of Oswego, N.Y., died of a heart attack Monday evening, he took a piece of Iowa with him.

In March 2004, Diane Langton of Cedar Rapids donated a kidney to Wilson after learning a Cedar Rapids man had scammed him — promising a kidney for transplant but then wanting money, something that's illegal.

Langton felt bad that someone from her city would do that to a family. She thought and prayed about it, and then called the Wilson family, saying she'd give Wilson — whom she'd never met — one of her kidneys.

It was a big story for a time, one that at least a half dozen New Yorkers found so moving that they, in turn, volunteered to donate one of their kidneys to those who needed one.

In addition, the young man from New York and the middle-aged woman from Iowa became close friends.

"I cried most of the night," Langton, 56, said upon hearing of Wilson's death. "I still am crying."

Langton, an assistant librarian at The Gazette, said she learned of Wilson's plight when she archived an article about how he had been scammed. With a little research, she found she and Wilson had the same blood type. Doctors confirmed her kidney was a good match for Wilson, and she went to Syracuse, N.Y., for the transplant surgery.

"I know that a lot of people live with one kidney, so I didn't see a reason for me not to do it," Langton said.

After the donation, James Wilson Jr. and his father visited Langton several times in Iowa, using the trips to advocate for organ donations. In 2005, Langton and her husband, Dick, showed the Wilsons the Field of Dreams in Dyersville. In 2006, she watched Wilson play basketball at the U.S. Transplant Games in Lexington, Ky.

"It was almost like having another kid," Langton said, adding she and "Jimmy" also e-mailed each other. "We had a special bond."

Wilson's mother, Kathleen, said her son took full advantage of the four years the transplant gained him.

"He was like a whole different person," she said. "He was more outgoing. He just lived life to the fullest."

After the transplant, the gregarious Wilson, who was born with only one kidney, was able to skip dialysis and engage in many of his favorite pastimes — golf, fishing and basketball.

His mother said the heart attack came after Wilson complained of flu-like symptoms over the weekend. After he died, his organs were donated — just as he'd arranged.

"He loved everybody and everybody loved him," his mother said.

At this point, 368 people in Iowa are waiting for kidney transplants in Iowa. It is the most commonly requested organ for donation. (For more information, go to www. iowadonornetwork.org)

Langton said the four years she gave Wilson was more than worth it.

"I would do it all over again," she said. "I helped someone have a better life."

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