Staten Islander Provides Living Kidney Transplant To Fiance, Running In Marathon to Raise Awareness

See below for a video presented by Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine, in which they discuss some of the scientifically proven methods for preventing kidney disease and kidney failure.  Since there is no actual cure for the condition once it has become severe, and the only known treatment is dialysis (kidney function provided by a machine daily or several times a week when the kidneys have failed) or organ donation, prevention is definitely the best prescription.  Deceased donor kidneys are less reliable and they are also less available, whereas living kidney donation has a much better predicted outcome.  However, it should be noted that in both types of kidney transplant, immune-suppressing drugs are required for the patient’s entire life to prevent their body from rejecting the new kidney.  Without these drugs, the recipient’s body might reject it.  However, using these medications also makes one much more prone to infection, and with partially functioning kidneys, these kinds of conditions can be life-threatening.  Preventing kidney disease takes effort and requires changes to one’s diet and regimen, but it can be very worthwhile.  See the video below.  Then learn about Rebecca Lawson, a Staten Island resident who ran in the marathon and donated one of her kidneys to her fiance who suffered from renal failure: 

Rebecca Lawson’s Life Changing Decision To Donate One Of Her Kidneys To Her Fiance Battling Kidney Disease

I wanted to share a very personal story that I hope can help bring more awareness to kidney disease and the life-changing impact of living organ donation.

On October 30, 2023, I donated one of my kidneys to my fiancé, Erik, after watching him battle stage 4 kidney disease and undergo emergency dialysis. That day changed both of our lives forever.

This October 30 marks exactly three years since our transplant, and just two days later, on November 1, 2026, I will be running the TCS New York City Marathon as part of the National Kidney Foundation’s Team Kidney.

As someone originally from Staten Island who now lives in New Jersey, this marathon means so much more to me than crossing a finish line. I’m running to honor our journey, celebrate the gift of life, and help educate others about kidney disease, early detection, and the incredible difference living kidney donors can make.

Throughout my marathon training, I’ve also been fundraising for the National Kidney Foundation because I believe more people need to understand how common kidney disease is, how important early detection can be, and that living donation is an option worth learning about.

Three years ago, I was preparing to give Erik a second chance at life. Today, I’m preparing to run 26.2 miles to help bring awareness to a cause that will forever be part of our story.

[We are sharing] our experience in hopes of inspiring others to learn more about kidney health, consider living donation, or support those affected by kidney disease.

Our journey began in January 2023, when my then-boyfriend (now fiance), Erik, was diagnosed with stage 4 chronic kidney disease. It was devastating news, and suddenly our lives became filled with doctor’s appointments, testing, and uncertainty about what the future would look like.

When we learned that Erik would eventually need a kidney transplant, I knew I wanted to see if I could be his donor. After going through the extensive testing process, on September 11, 2023, we received the incredible news that I was a match! It was such an emotional moment for both of us and finally gave us some hope during a very difficult time.

Our transplant surgery was originally scheduled for October 23, 2023, but things didn’t exactly go according to plan. After Erik’s preoperative bloodwork came back with concerning results, he was rushed to the emergency room and needed emergency dialysis. As if that wasn’t stressful enough, I then came down with COVID, which meant our surgery had to be postponed another week.

Thankfully, on October 30, 2023, I was finally able to donate one of my kidneys to Erik at Hackensack University Medical Center. It was one of the most emotional and meaningful days of our lives. After everything we had been through, knowing I could give him a chance at a healthier future was something I’ll never be able to fully put into words.

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This Friday, October 30, marks exactly three years since our transplant, and just two days later, on Sunday, November 1, I’ll be running the 2026 NYC Marathon with Team Kidney in support of the National Kidney Foundation.

What’s so special to me is that three years ago, I was preparing to undergo major surgery to donate an organ, and now I’m preparing to run 26.2 miles! I never imagined I’d be running a marathon, let alone doing it to raise awareness for a cause that has become such a huge part of our lives.

And our story has continued in such a beautiful way. Erik and I got engaged on February 12, 2023, and we’re now planning our wedding for April 30, 2027, in Jamaica. We’ve been through some incredibly challenging moments together, but they’ve only made us stronger as a couple.

My biggest hope in sharing our story is to raise awareness about living kidney donation. So many people don’t realize that you can live a full, active, and healthy life with one kidney. I want people to know that being a living donor doesn’t mean putting your own life on hold. Three years later, I’m still doing the things I love, staying active, and now taking on one of the biggest physical challenges of my life.

[Sharing our story] truly means so much to us, especially with our three-year transplant anniversary and the marathon happening just days apart. The timing couldn’t be more meaningful!

See below for details about a new Kidney Transplant Collaborative between Northwell Health, SI Performing Provider System, and Kidneys for Communities:

Kidney Transplant Collaborative, Northwell Health, SI PPS, and Kidneys for Communities Announce Program to Expand Access to Living Donor Kidney Transplants

Three-year program at Northwell Health’s transplant center trains volunteer facilitators to help patients identify and support potential living donors

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC), Northwell Health, Staten Island PPS/SCN (SI PPS), and Kidneys for Communities (K4C) today announced the Living Donor Program Enhancement Demonstration Project (the “Program”), a three-year effort underway since January 2026 and designed to increase access to and completion of living donor kidney transplants for patients with kidney disease. The Program adds dedicated transplant coordinator staffing at Northwell Health’s transplant center to train volunteer facilitators drawn from the patient’s own life, including friends, family members, faith leaders and coworkers. Those volunteer facilitators help patients identify potential living donors and offer those donors encouragement and support through the pre-transplant process.

The Program responds to three key findings: deceased kidney donations are declining, as documented in KTC’s January 2026 Deceased Donor Report; a Mayo Clinic survey found that 84% of people would consider donating a kidney to a friend or family member, yet they are rarely asked in a way that breaks through; and most people who volunteer to donate do not complete the process from initial screening to surgery.

Decades of evidence from programs across the country support this approach. In a leading pilot at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, training and deploying volunteer facilitators increased living donor screenings ninefold and approved living donors sevenfold. At Johns Hopkins University, the share of recipients who identified a living donor rose from near zero to roughly half.

The Program aligns with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model, which seeks to improve access to life-saving transplants while advancing quality and equity in care. It will also generate the operational and outcomes data needed to support adoption at transplant centers nationwide, including centers participating in CMS’s IOTA Model.

Living donor kidney transplantation is widely recognized as the preferred treatment for many patients with end-stage kidney disease, offering improved health outcomes and quality of life compared to long-term dialysis. Through the Program, trained facilitators serve as a support network. They help patients share their story with the people around them and stay in touch with prospective donors, offering encouragement so no one goes through the process alone.

Transplant centers already employ coordinators who manage the clinical side of evaluation and transplant. The Program adds staff focused solely on preparing each patient’s own network to find and encourage a donor.

As part of the Program, the partners will:

• Train and coach volunteer facilitators at Northwell Health.
• Develop standardized education, training, and operational protocols.
• Measure patient engagement, donor referrals, completed donor evaluations, and living donor transplant outcomes.
• Produce a replicable implementation guide for other transplant centers.
• Share findings with healthcare providers, policymakers, and transplant organizations to help advance broader adoption of successful practices.

The Program’s core implementation period will run through June 2028.

By pairing the transplant center’s clinical expertise with trained volunteers from each patient’s own community, the partners aim to show that structured, non-clinical support can increase the number of successful living donor kidney transplants and reduce disparities in access to care.

“Published studies have documented that properly trained volunteer facilitators can dramatically increase the chances of a recipient in need of a kidney transplant identifying a willing living donor and also help that donor successfully complete their evaluation,” said Andrew D. Howard, MD, FACP, Chairman of the Kidney Transplant Collaborative. “This program gives patients a path to transplant now, without waiting years on the list for a deceased donor kidney.”

“Living donation is one of the most selfless gifts in medicine, offering patients the best chance at a longer, healthier life. Through our partnership with K4C, KTC & SI PPS, community-based facilitators will help patients share their story and identify potential living donors, so more people can get the transplant they need,” said Dr. Vinay Nair, Medical Director, Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Northwell Transplant Institute

“The generous donation from Kidneys for Communities makes it possible for SI PPS to support the implementation of a unique program that supports living donor kidney transplant.” Joseph Conte, PhD, CPHQ, Executive Director of SI PPS adds. “This program will introduce community-based facilitators trained to support donors and recipients while amplifying the message that living donation is an extraordinary act of generosity that has the power to save lives. SI PPS is honored to partner with KTC, K4C, & Northwell Health to support recipients through their transplant journey and inspire more individuals to become living donors.

”The hardest step for most patients isn’t surgery; it’s finding a living donor,” said Atul Agnihotri, CEO of Kidneys for Communities. “Working with KTC, Northwell Health and SI PPS, our community-directed donation program will help more patients find that donor and build a model transplant centers nationwide can follow.”

About Staten Island PPS

Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI PPS) is a non-profit public health organization founded in 2014 under the New York State Department of Health Medicaid 1115 waiver amendment known as the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. At the end of the program, SI PPS earned high-performance funding which has been invested back into network partners who have continued to expand upon population health improvement initiatives.

In 2024, New York State received an extension of their Medicaid 1115 waiver amendment to implement a new initiative called New York Health Equity Reform. Under this waiver, SI PPS became the lead entity in Richmond County to develop a Social Care Network to expand and enhance the capability of our network to provide health-related social needs screening for all Medicaid members, improve the coordination and delivery of social care services, and reduce health disparities. Due to its success and as the leading SCN in the state, the Staten Island SCN was chosen to expand into Brooklyn and Queens, reaching over 350,000 more Medicaid members.

About Kidneys for Communities (K4C)

Kidneys for Communities is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives by increasing access to kidney transplants through living donation. The organization partners with communities, unions, employers, municipalities, and first responder organizations to educate, support, and connect donors and recipients, increasing the likelihood that a life-saving kidney can be directed to a fellow community member in need. Addressing the national shortage of living kidney donors through proactive outreach, Kidneys for Communities developed the first-ever national community-directed donation program, which unlocks connections within membership-based communities and expands the impact of paired kidney exchange. To learn more or find out how to help first responders in need of a kidney transplant, visit kidneysforcommunities.org.

About Northwell Health

Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, joined by Nuvance Health, serving 3 million people annually across New York and Connecticut. With more than 104,000 employees, 14,500 providers and 28 hospitals, Northwell is one of the nation’s largest health systems. Northwell is a leader in clinical care, medical research at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, and healthcare education through the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Northwell is committed to promoting wellness, healthier lifestyles, and closing gaps in healthcare equity. For more information, visit Northwell.edu and follow us on social media.

About the Kidney Transplant Collaborative

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) is dedicated to increasing kidney transplants and removing financial and logistical barriers for kidney patients, donors, and their families. KTC is uniquely focused on increasing the number of living donor transplants in the United States through policy advocacy, education, and community organizing. For more information, visit kidneytransplantcollaborative.com.