Woman Donates Kidney To Husband; Gives Birth Same Day Three Years Later

Woman Donates Kidney To Husband; Gives Birth Same Day Three Years Later

UPDATED: 2:36 pm EDT April 28, 2011

BOSTON -- Baby Clara Sophia Monterio was born a healthy 7 pounds, 9 ounces on March 27. Her proud parents are thankful for the daughter, a few years earlier, they never thought they could have.
"The focus of our lives was so much managing his illness that it wasn't possible," said Christine Monterio.
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 17, Todd Monterio's condition kept getting worse and worse, ultimately damaging his kidneys.
"That's when things started to fall apart," he said.
"He was so sick. I mean he was literally at death's door," said Christine Monterio.
Todd Monterio desperately needed a transplant, but with a waiting list of close to 100,000 people, he faced five to seven years of waiting and a kidney most likely from a deceased donor.
"So after seven to eight years, only 50 percent of those organs are still around and working, as compared to 15 to 18 years with an organ from a living donor," said Dr. Stefan Tullius, chief of transplant surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
"I wouldn't even call it a decision that I made. It was just something that, instinctively, I knew had to be done," said Christine Monterio, of her decision to donate her kidney to her husband on March 27, 2008 at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
"It was really essentially a rebirth for me," said Todd Monterio.
And after a textbook recovery, three years later to the day, the couple experienced another miracle at the exact same hospital.
"We were wondering when she would choose to arrive, but she chose March 27 as the day," said Christine Monterio, which brought their story full circle: Christine Monterio's kidney donation made not only her husband's life possible but baby Clara's, too.
"It's given us a chance to fulfill a dream to have a family that would never have been possible," said Christine Monterio.
To find out how you can be a live organ donor, visit the New England Program for Kidney Exchange here.

Read more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/27691713/detail.html#ixzz1L5AkFdV4