Photo: Go Nakamura | NPR
Twenty year-old Michael Wingard of Kerrville, Texas set out to donate a kidney to his friend, Kaelyn Connelly. He was not a match, but something bigger transpired. Michael was a match for someone else, and that match became the first link in a 10-person chain that took place at Houston Methodist Church in March. This is uncommon. Usually, hospital chains involve up to six people.The 10-person procedure took place over four days, with the last one at Houston Methodist in 2020. Two days after Wingard's kidney surgery, a group of ten strangers -- recipients and donors -- gathered in a conference room. Family members and doctors hovered around the periphery. Then they were no longer strangers. "It's surreal. I mean we're all different ages, different walks of life," said Lisa Jolivet, one of the recipients and donors. The fact that we're all just going through this together, it's unreal." Chris McLellan leaned over to Tomas Martinez and said "Thank you for giving me my life back. You have an awesome kidney."
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