Mother gives thanks for kidney donation

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - About 150 people are waiting for a kidney donor in Massachusetts. After next week, that number will be reduced by one.

One western Massachusetts native has taken the concept of the "season of giving" to a whole new level.

South Hadley resident Julie Gentile is counting down her dialysis.  This is her third-to-last treatment before her kidney transplant operation next week.

Julie has been coming to the Fresenius Dialysis Center in West Springfield since August first. Three times a week, an artificial kidney cleans the toxins from her blood.

She's been on the list for a kidney transplant for almost two years.  Almost out of the blue, a life-long family friend who'd moved from South Hadley to San Diego called in September to tell her he wanted to give her a kidney.

"I'll be fine after. I can function completely fine with just one kidney. So I have an extra. So she can have it."  Kurt was visiting Julie along with his wife, Kendra, who supports his decision to be a living organ donor.

Post transplant, life will be different for Julie. For one thing, no more dialysis. And she says she's looking forward to her new-found freedom.

"It will be nice to be a mom and a wife again, instead of having to be a patient first."  Julie and Kurt are scheduled for surgery next Wednesday Morning at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

You can visit the living kidney donor website by clicking here.