Hampton resident Bill Daugherty barely knew Dale Lynn, but he gave him an extraordinary gift.
Daugherty, 50, donated a kidney for a transplant Lynn underwent May 21 at UPMC Montefiore.
Lynn, 55, of Hampton was born with only one kidney. After that went bad, he was put on the transplant list in February.
Daugherty and Lynn knew each other through the Hampton Dolphin Swim Team, where their daughters swim, and their dogs, who are siblings. Their wives met at a women’s Bible study.
“We stayed in touch and (Lynn’s wife) Kisle kept us updated on Dale’s health,” said Daugherty’s wife, Heather. “Bill planned on being tested when he knew that Dale would be placed on the transplant list.
“We both just felt it was what we needed to do.”
Lynn said he will always be grateful for Daugherty’s selfless act.
Dr. Amit Tevar, chief of kidney and pancreas transplant at UPMC, performed the surgery.
“(Lynn and Daugherty) are truly wonderful people,” he said.
Tevar said living donors are becoming more common and have been found in church groups and gym clubs and among neighbors. He said a dozen or so of the 200 kidney transplants performed at UPMC each year are made possible by non-direct donors, who do not know the identity of recipients.
Donors undergo laparoscopic surgery.
Aja Lynn, 14, said what Daugherty did for her father was incredible, and that people reached out to drive her to places.
“(It is) good to have a really big community to care for you,” she said.
To be a living donor, you must be between the ages of 18 and 69 and in general good health.
To learn how to give, visit UPMC.com/LivingDonor Kidney and click Register to be a Living Donor.
Phone: 412-647-5800, fax: 412-692-4154. Living Donor Registration: living donorreg.upmc.com.
