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'I'm going to cry': Kidney donors meet recipients in six-person, three-way exchange

'I'm going to cry': Kidney donors meet recipients in six-person, three-way exchange
'I'm going to cry': Kidney donors meet recipients in six-person, three-way exchange 01:02

CHICAGO (CBS) -- On Thursday, six strangers across the country were connected, thanks to an important swap.

They're part of a three-way kidney paired exchange. Four of them met tonight for the first time. Rick and Marissa Calcutt were involved because Rick needed a kidney, but his wife, Marissa, wasn't a match.

Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn told them about a program, that allows healthy donors to give their kidney to someone in need, in exchange for their loved one being moved up on the donation list.

That's how they connected with Christine Faust and her former mother-in-law Ruth in Buffalo, New York.bThrough the program, Christine donated her kidney to Rick.

Rick's wife Marissa donated her kidney to an undisclosed person in Rhode Island. A donor in Rhode Island then donated their kidney to Ruth.

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