Daytime Talk Show Inspires Living Kidney Donation to Support Ailing Veteran at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

(New Brunswick, NJ) - Part of Sheila Devaney's morning routine is to turn on WABC Channel 7 and catch up on the day's news. One day in December 2022, she left the TV on long enough to catch some of the Tamron Hall Show - a random act that would have a profound impact on two lives by inspiring her to make a living-kidney donation at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH).

That day, the show featured DOVE Transplant, a non-profit organization whose goal is to find, educate, screen and support prospective living donors and then match those donors to a Veteran awaiting transplant. DOVE Transplant also promotes living kidney donation through nationwide campaigns and outreach events to create a living donor registry of prospective donors.

Sheila always had a deep admiration and respect for U.S. Veterans. In her youth, she was interested in studying history and the various wars the U.S. had fought. In her 30s, she became actively involved in several veterans' foundations and regularly participated in the annual Tunnels to Tower Run supporting veterans. She was fascinated by DOVE's mission and wanted to learn more.

"I usually don't watch Tamron Hall - maybe once in a blue moon when it comes on after the news," the Annandale resident explained. "I never had a family member or knew anyone who experienced kidney failure or had issues, the only thing I ever did was check the organ donor box when renewing my driver's license."

Sheila partially listened as DOVE's Executive Director Sharon Kreitzer described the organization's mission and a recipient and donor connected by DOVE shared their stories.

"I watched the last 30 minutes of the show and was enthralled," Sheila recalled. "Later that day, I sent Sharon an e-mail telling her I was interested in finding out what it takes to be a living donor."

Sharon responded immediately and the two had a Zoom call the next day.

"Sharon told me that she had a veteran in need who matched my blood type and encouraged me to read his bio on the website," Sheila explained.

That veteran was Ronald Kishun, a 58-year-old Spotswood resident, father and grandfather who served in the Navy and had been diagnosed with kidney failure. He was on dialysis for seven years. Attempts to match him with a deceased donor did not work out over the years. One day, a fellow patient and veteran at his dialysis center told him about the DOVE Foundation.

"He told me that he was too old to receive a kidney transplant, but that I should give DOVE Transplant a try," Ronald said. "I made the call and spoke to Sharon."

After learning more about the organization and the matching process, he spoke to his wife Esperanza, and they decided to seek a kidney donor through DOVE Transplant, which matched Sheila with Ron. The living donation surgery was performed in April by Ronald Pelletier, MD, surgical director, and Advaith Bongu, MD, transplant surgeon, with RWJUH's Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Program. Sheila and Ron were invited to share their story on the Tamron Hall Show and met for the first time during the show's taping in September. Their show aired on November 27.

In addition to regaining his health and active lifestyle which included fishing and hunting, Ron had a more important reason to find a compatible donor. He and his wife have a 31-year-old son with special needs. As Ron's condition worsened, it became more challenging for Esperanza to care for Sebastian on her own. There was a possibility that Sebastian would have to live in a group home.

"It was important for me to be able to support my wife and Sebastian," Ron explained. "No one can take care of your kid better than you."

Although Ron has weathered some post-transplant complications, he is making progress and "feels his energy coming back."

As for his donor, Ron still has difficulty finding the words to describe meeting Sheila for the first time on the set of the Tamron Hall Show.

"How do you describe meeting someone for the first time who saved your life?" Ron asked. "Taking part of you to give to someone else takes a special person. In my book, she falls under the saint category. God has given me a new opportunity at life. I can't comprehend how someone would go to this length to help someone they don't know."

For Sheila's part, being able to help Ron and raise awareness about the positive impact living donation can have was a rewarding experience that she encourages others to explore.

"I don't want to focus on me, I want to share all of the great work that the RWJUH Transplant Team does," Sheila said. "Before I began the living donor process, I wasn't that familiar with RWJUH. Right from the first day I went there, everyone was so amazing - every appointment had such joy."

She added, "I tell people, if you're thinking about it (living donation), try it and take the first step. Make your first appointment. After my first appointment I was already excited about donating a kidney, but when I learned more about Ron through DOVE Transplant, then I knew it was really meant to be."

About Living Kidney Donation

A living-donated kidney can vastly improve the quality of life of someone with kidney failure. People who have kidney failure are encouraged to seek living donors for a kidney transplant because:

• The recipients will bypass the wait for a deceased donor kidney and receive a kidney faster.
• Dialysis takes a toll on the heart. Receiving a kidney from a living donor can reduce the risk of cardiac complications.
• A living donor's kidney is less likely to be rejected by the recipient's immune system than a kidney from a deceased donor.
• Recipients of kidneys from living donors have notably higher success rates, shorter hospital stays and require less immunosuppression than those who receive kidneys from deceased donors.
• Kidney donation surgery is generally done laparoscopically.

To learn more, please visit LIVING KIDNEY DONATION at RWJUH.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 628-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey's largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a nationally-ranked 2024-25 Best Children's Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women's health. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH's New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. Learn more at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick or www.bmsch.org