Kidney turns strangers into family

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Kidney turns strangers into family

Monday, July 7th 2008, 7:11 PM
M. Roberts for News

Denise Pedromo plants a smooch on transplant surgeon Dr. Alan Benvenisty late last month.

You've heard many stories of someone donating a kidney to a friend or family member. It's become so commonplace, we don't really stop to think about how much it really entails.

It's a sacrifice, an inconvenience, a labor of love.

So, imagine how wonderful it is when a virtual stranger gives such a gift.

"I had only seen her twice, and it was 'Hi' and 'Goodbye,'" said Denise Perdomo of her donor, Maria Nieves.

Perdomo, 39, had been on dialysis three times a week for five years. She suffered from end-stage renal disease.

Her face and eyes and legs would swell up. She could only drink four cups of water a day.

Her sister, Elizabeth Perdomo Benitez, works with Nieves at Pro Health in the Bronx, a medical firm that helps kidney dialysis patients.

"I would see people with problems on dialysis," said Nieves, a medical assistant who was born and raised in the Bronx.

"You see these people, they're scared, frustrated with their life situation."

She started at Pro Health in September 2006. One day in the office, she and Benitez were watching an Oprah show about friends.

"We started talking about sisters, and I asked her what blood type Denise was, and when she said, 'O-positive,' I said, 'So am I. ... I'll give her a kidney.'"

Benitez was stunned - and incredulous.

"I told her, 'I'm not playing,'" Nieves said. "Tomorrow, we'll talk to her nephrologist."

They didn't tell Perdomo about the plan.

In December 2006, Nieves began the extensive testing that would be needed for a transplant.

Then, the following June, Perdomo was in Pro Health when Nieves pulled her aside and told her she was giving her a kidney.

"I said 'Why?' and she said 'Why not?'" Perdomo related. "And I said, 'That's not an answer.' I didn't believe it."

Nieves showed her all the test results - the cross-match, CAT scan, urine tests, blood work, sonograms - that had taken months.

"She was compatible, like my sister," Perdomo said.

Nieves told her sons, Jonathan, 7, and Jason, 9, she was going into the hospital to give someone a kidney.

"I told them I could save someone's life," Nieves said. "The younger one asked if I was going to give the other one away, too."

"I told her, 'I wouldn't be upset if you change your mind,'" Perdomo said.

Dr. Alan Benvenisty of St. Luke's Hospital's kidney transplant program was due to perform the surgery this past February.

It had to be postponed twice, because Perdomo's antibodies were stirred up by a cold or flu. They would have rejected the kidney.

The problem finally cleared up, and last month, both women went to St. Luke's for the transplant.

"She was in Room 30; I was in Room 31," said Perdomo.

"We saw each other right before. She wasn't nervous, but I was. We said, 'Good luck.'"

They woke up in the recovery room, asking for each other.

The June 4 transplant seems a success. Benvenisty said both women were doing well.

"I feel better already," Perdomo said. "Dr. Benvenisty said it's a super kidney."

Nieves left the hospital after three days, but went back to see Perdomo, who had to stay for a couple of weeks.

Nieves said she feels good, but had a little pain and felt winded when she walked.

She said she's going back to work soon and probably wouldn't take the whole time off her company gave her. She talks about the transplant as if it were a small favor.

Except, "I'd get frustrated with all the tests, I was like, 'Just rip out the kidney already!'"

She's glad she could help Perdomo.

"She looks great, she looks beautiful, she's so happy," Nieves said.

The first three months will be crucial, and Perdomo will have to take anti-rejection medicine for the rest of her life.

But, she exulted, "No more dialysis!"

Perdomo is Dominican and Nieves is Puerto Rican. "Maria said, 'I'm a little bit Puerto Rican now.'"

Nieves also told her: "You're my sister now."

poshaughnessy@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2008/07/07/2008-07-07_kidney_turns_strangers_into_family.html