A Cornell University professor got the gift of a lifetime from a friend and colleague last month.
Ron Ehrenberg, the Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics and a member of the Cornell faculty since 1975, received a kidney transplant from ILR School associate professor Adam Seth Litwin on June 29. Ehrenberg was battling end-stage renal disease and had been waiting for a kidney for five years, undergoing nightly peritoneal dialysis treatments along with the numerous medications and infusions.
“In my mind,” Litwin said in a press release, “Ron personifies the best of the ILR School and of the university. I would give my heart to this enterprise if I could, so this is about as close I could get.”
Litwin found out he was a match for Ehrenberg two years ago, but kept it a secret because Litwin wanted to improve his overall health before committing to the donation.
“Ron knew nothing about this, absolutely nothing,” Litwin said. “I didn’t want to disappoint him if it didn’t work out. And, I needed to make sure that even if I were medically cleared, my family was onboard, too. "
Litwin found out on April 20, coincidentally Ehrenberg’s 75th birthday, that he had been medically approved. Shortly after, the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester called Ehrenberg to inform him they’d found a living donor.
”We got the call saying they had a live donor and we’re scheduling [transplant surgery] for June,” Ehrenberg said. “And you know, my wife and I basically broke down in tears. We’d been waiting so long.”
Ehrenberg was especially surprised to learn he knew the donor: Litwin, who’s about 30 years younger.
“While our children and grandchildren are truly the great gifts of our lives, Adam’s gift of life to Ron is beyond words,” Ron’s wife Randy Ehrenberg said. “This selfless, generous and kind act has moved me. Adam, Claire and their children will always be in our hearts.”
Both are recovering from the surgery, according to Cornell University, located in Ithaca, N.Y. Litwin hopes to be back at work soon, while Ehrenberg expects to be able to resume some activities after his body adjusts.
Ehrenberg said he hopes sharing his story helps other people become award of the need for kidney donors. According to Donate Life America, approximately 85% of people waiting for a transplant need a new kidney, and the average wait time for receiving a kidney from a deceased donor is three to five years.
For more information, visit the American Kidney Fund website.
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