My Kidney Donation Story: Paul Savuto

Recently, my wife Deborah and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We are the proud parents of one daughter, Michelle, who earned her master’s in public health from Harvard and now works as a consultant for a major law firm.

I count myself lucky every day to share my life with these two incredible women. But I know for a fact that this life could have turned out very differently. In 2002, Deborah’s kidneys were failing. She needed a transplant, and I was a match.

Because I had the ability to donate one of my kidneys, Deborah is still here today. I gave my kidney to one of the people I love most in the world, and I would do it again without hesitation.

Living donation works. My own life is proof. Over 20 years later, I am still swimming competitively in U.S. Masters events and open water races. In 2017, I even swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco. Having one kidney has not slowed me down. I hope that my experience shows others that donating a kidney does not mean giving up your health or your future.

In 2022, the kidney that I donated was declining. The 22 years of kidney function was a good outcome for a living donation, but Deb would need a new kidney soon.

With help from Ned Brooks of NKDO, I started to search for a new donor. A key to this campaign was promoting the concept that “you do not need to be a match to donate.” From the National Kidney Registry, we learned that we might need a voucher to get a matching kidney.

From July 3, 2023, to September 1, 2023, we advertised in the Boston MBTA subways and buses using 120 posters. The ad is shown below, the candle a symbol of hope.

Our ads drew the attention of a wonderful altruistic donor who agreed to donate her kidney even though she was not a match for Deb. Her kidney was a match for a patient in New York, who received a transplant in December 2023.

In May 2024, my wife received a matched kidney (four out of six match) via the NKR from another wonderful woman in Michigan, Judy F.

We are forever grateful to Garet Hil and the NKR. Because of them, my wife never spent a single day on dialysis and is now thriving on less medication.

Thank you for the opportunity to share our story and demonstrate that donating a kidney has had no effect on one of my favorite activities: long-distance swimming.

About the Author

Now retired from the medical device and diagnostics industry, Paul S. Savuto is a living kidney donor athlete who lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, and volunteers his time to the New England Donor Services.  His passion is competitive swimming in U.S. Masters Swimming and Open Water Swim events. On most summer days, you can find him on the golf course; in winter, on the ski slopes of New England and Colorado. Paul lives with his wife, Deborah. Their daughter Michelle works in Boston.