Paying It Forward One Kidney At A Time

CBS Evening News: A Transplant Surgeon Matches 10 Donors With Recipients In The Longest Chain In History

(CBS)  Matt Jones, a father of five from Northern Michigan, had always been known as a guy with a big heart.

"If you've got the ability to do so, why not?" Jones says.

But two years ago, he gave really big, donating his kidney to a complete stranger, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller. There was one condition: the recipient had to find a donor for someone else.

"It was a huge gift," said Barb Bunnell, who received Jones' kidney. "Because of Matt, I was able to be transplanted before going on dialysis."

Bunnell was the first recipient. And thus began the longest kidney donor chain in history, written up in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. Since 2007, ten people have received new kidneys from living donors.

With the help of a computer matching program, Jones flew to Phoenix to help Bunnell. In turn, her husband Ron gave his kidney to Angie, in Ohio. Angie's mom, Laurie then donated her kidney and on, and on it went, spouses, parents, even friends paying it forward.

Other donor chains require the donor swaps to happen at the same time at the same hospital, but Dr. Michael Rees based his donor chain on trust.

"(There is) a risk that somebody might renege and might not pay forward the gift that's been given to them," said Dr. Rees, who founded the Alliance for Paired Donations.

So far, no one has broken the chain, Miller reports.

"When you're a mom, you do what ever you can for your children," said Laurie Sarvo, donor number three in the chain.

Sarvo knows without the chain her daughter Angie wouldn't alive.

"It gave me my life back," says Angie Heckman. "Things I coudn't do before, I'm back in school, I can go anywhere I want now and not worry about dialysis."

CBS News brought them together again today, the pioneering doctor and three links in his chain, so connected, they went to Jones' wedding last June.

"We're all bound together," said Barb Bunnell.

"Everyone has a different story but they're all incredible," her husband Ron said.

Jones hopes more donors will be inspired to give a kidney.

"Seeing somebody come back from looking literally dead to being full of life - I'm hoping to see more people in the future experience that," he said.

[kidneydonorapossetiv]

Would like to donate my kidney.
My blood type is A posetiv RH
I am willing to travel
E-mail: [e-mail]

This is fantastic!! My 16 year old daughter is on PD for almost a year. She is on the list here in Nevada & trying to get on Arizona's list also. We would be glad to pay it forward. Jasmine is also O+ blood type. She has had to drop out of school because this has affected her school work & personal life greatly. She also tried home school but because of being in the hospital or doctors so much, she fell so far behind. She is now going for her GED, but she needs a more positive life. She is determined to succeed. Anyone who can help in any way please email: [e-mail]

[REG1963]

MY NUMBER IS WRONG ITS 570-470-7472

[REG1963]

MY NAME IS REGINA ACQUAVELLA MY DAUGHTER CHRISTINA NEEDS A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SHE IS 20 YEARS OLD HER BLOOD IS 0 POSTIVE . I WOULD LIKE SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THIS AND WOULD LOVE TO JOIN THIS NETWORK. MY NUMBERS ARE 516-626-2058 OR 570-470-7474. WE ARE NOW WITH MONFAFORIA HOSPITAL. PLEASE I WOULS LOVE TO HEAR FROM SOMEBODY. GOD BLESS REGINA

[JaneSmith06]

this was an awesome story I am currently on dialysis and waiting for a kidney... I wish I knew someone who was involved in this if that's all I had to do was a find a donor for someone else I would do it in a heartbeat I could find more than one donor if I needed to. I'm only 24 but I have been on dialysis since I was 18 and I just want to be able to live a normal adult life and work and go to school full time without going to dialysis 3 times a week and always be so tired.