Transplantation Patient Stories

Altruistic Donor Causes Chain Reaction

Living-donor transplantations are real-life examples of how every healthy person can save someone else’s life. Patricia Menno-Coveney of Mystic is proof. When her plans to donate a kidney to a friend fell through when he became ineligible as a recipient she stayed on the donor list and, using a computer program, she was identified as a successful match for David Rennie of Shelton. The program also showed that Margaret Rennie, David’s wife, could donate her kidney to Raymond Murphy of Old Saybook. Sylvie Murphy, Raymond’s wife, was a match for Mario Garcia of New Haven; and Hilary Grant, Garcia’s wife, could donate to Edward Brakoniecki of Stamford, who has waited five years for a kidney.

Matthew's Story

Matthew Esposito, 79, has been coming to the Transitional Care Center at Yale New Haven Hospital for the past two years. He receives diuretics to reduce fluid buildup caused by congestive heart failure.

Cole's Story

Cole Chaivanik was only a couple of months old when he started showing symptoms of a rare childhood liver disease called Bilary Atresia. To confirm this diagnosis would require a liver biopsy. Knowing it was a rare disease, Cole's family went ahead with the biopsy. Then complications arose.

Grover Family

In August 2010, Josiah and Darien Grover welcomed their second child, Samuel, who joined his older brother Will in their family. Born on the base of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, Sam was a healthy newborn.

Upon his two-month wellness visit, however, Sam’s pediatrician noticed that his eyes looked “off”… not quite yellow, but not white. This was a symptom of jaundice, which is caused by the liver not removing bilirubin, a yellow pigment from the blood. After the results of blood work were in, Sam was diagnosed with biliary atresia.

Julian's Story

In 1994, Julian Sproule was enjoying a very successful career. A native of the U.K., Julian was working in the London office of Michael Bloomberg, future mayor of New York and founder of one of the world's most influential news organizations. Then things took a turn for the worse.

Lia's Story

A few weeks before Easter 2008, Lia Cirelli, a smart, happy 11-year-old from Redding, Connecticut, who rarely got tired, sick or bored, began complaining about stomach aches. One Tuesday afternoon, Laura Cirelli watched her daughter step off the school bus clutching her stomach, pushing against her upper rib cage. The next day Lia's skin turned yellow, almost orange.

Peter's Story

Jennifer Humphrey, a Southington resident, was 27 and had an 18-month-old son, when she donated one of her kidneys to her father, Peter Lanza, a type 1 diabetic who had stopped traveling, avoided swimming pools because of risk of infection, and was spending eight hours each night on peritoneal dialysis. "Truly, I never gave a second thought to being the donor. I love my father," Humphrey said.

Ryan's Story

Ryan Agnew was a normal 10 year-old... happy, healthy and very athletic. Then one day, his mom Connie received a call from the school informing her that Ryan was suffering from severe stomach pains.

Sam's Story

At age six, Sam Goldman was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease of the small bile duct in the liver. Seven years later, the disease had progressed to the point where Sam needed a liver transplant.

Sanija's Story

From the moment Sanija Tigangi came into the world, things were not right. At birth, doctors told her mother, Elzana, that Sanija had a failing liver.

Sanija Tigangi and mom ElzanaOver the next several months, the Tigangis made repeat visits to the hospital as doctors performed a battery of tests and monitored Sanija's condition. Six months later, Elzana and her husband were informed that they would "need to stay in the hospital." They stayed for over a month while Sanija's condition continued to deteriorate. "We were waiting for her to die," recalls Elzana.

Tricia's Story

Tricia Conduah went to the doctor for what she thought was just a Urinary Tract Infection. But it turned out there was something more to it.

Tricia's creatinine levels were high. A biopsy revealed that she was suffering from glomerulonephritis - a renal disease that prevents part of the kidney from properly filtering impurities.