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| JD de León (right) and Ken Wenger of Maplewood |
Alt Press reports:
A work connection, an extraordinary gift of generosity, and a stroke of luck gave Jaime David de León the gift of life.
The Jersey City man’s story begins more than a decade ago, when laboratory tests discovered high levels of a protein in his blood that showed he was in renal failure. He began kidney dialysis and went on the transplant waiting list at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.
Four years later, he still had no kidney. JD’s blood type put him at a disadvantage. He was a type O positive. People with this blood type can be universal donors and, as a result, their organs are in high demand.
“It seemed everyone was getting a kidney except me,” JD said. His chances of finding a match were so slim doctors considered him for an experimental procedure that allows recipients to receive a non-compatible kidney. His wife, Theresa de León, came to the hospital to be tested as a possible non-compatible donor. But doctors quickly ruled her out because her blood pressure was too high. Despondent, she shared her story with a colleague at PNC Bank, where she works as a Vice President of Wealth Management.
The colleague was Ken Wenger, a Senior Vice President at PNC who lives in Maplewood. The two were driving to a business function when Ken asked her why she missed a day at work and she began to explain her husband’s story.
More HERE.
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