A Gift of Love Husband Donates Kidney To Wife Memorial Transplant Institute
When Monica and Cesar met 23 years ago, they fell in love and became a perfect match. Their love for each other became Monica’s life-saving grace, when Cesar donated his kidney to his devoted wife, making it the first kidney transplant for the new Memorial Transplant Institute. The couple is celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary this week. The transplant team completed the five-hour procedure on February 19, a successful milestone for the new adult and pediatric transplant program providing South Florida residents greater access to quality kidney and heart transplant care. “This is an amazing gift,” said Monica, shortly before going home four days after the surgery. “God put this man in my life for a reason. He saved my life.” “We are so grateful to Memorial for everything that has been done,” Cesar said. “It’s a new start to her freedom.” The kidney transplant comes less than a year after Memorial received federal approval from UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) to launch an adult and pediatric kidney transplant program at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. The Institute also received approval to establish a living donor kidney recovery component, including open and laparoscopic nephrectomies. The kidney transplant program, offering pediatric and adult kidney transplantation, now joins Memorial’s adult and pediatric cardiac transplant programs under the umbrella of the Memorial Transplant Institute.
