Village Resident Embarks on Kidney Transplant Journey

Jacquelyn Maher-Brucia is one of hundreds of thousands nationwide suffering from kidney disease and two months ago she heard the news she had long been dreading: it was time to initiate the kidney transplant process in hopes of finding a healthy organ.

While that kind of news would knock most adults down, the 30-year Babylon Village resident is moving as fast as she always does. While the reality has hit home hard, especially with her family members, the chief financial officer for Atlantic Auto Mall in West Islip and longtime community activist is still working fulltime and putting lots of hours into organizing last night's second annual gala fundraiser for the National Kidney Registry.

"I just decided I was going to go on with my life," said the spunky grandmother of two, who is no stranger to kidney illness. Her mother died from related complications of the disease in 1965, her 38-year-old son has been diagnosed with the same genetic disorder she suffers from, and numerous cousins have lost their lives to the disease, which typically hits adults in their 50s and 60s.

The former school board trustee and volunteer on a wide range of programs including the Babylon Youth Program and the restoration of the old Babylon Town Hall, is juggling her demanding role at the auto dealership while undergoing transplant procedure testing.

Her face lights up with amazement when she talks about the transplant program she's relying on to help her live a long healthy life.

"I have never seen anything like it. It's so organized and efficient. The doctors are so empathic. When one doctor called to tell me the news, I could hear in his voice how sad he was to have to tell me I needed to move forward for a transplant," she recalled.

Once her own medical testing is completed, the donor testing process can start and the hope is a match will be found before the 60-year-old is forced to begin dialysis. Studies indicate that the less time a patient is on dialysis, the higher the survival rate of the transplanted kidney.

But even the discouraging thought of daily dialysis isn't dampening the spirit of the gregarious village resident.

"I'm getting ready to have the port put in that's needed for the dialysis and I feel fine and that's how I'm moving forward. None of this has slowed me down. The news was shocking but the support of my family and friends has been amazing," she says, noting that two close friends have already volunteered to be tested as potential donors.

Maher-Brucia became a supporter of the registry many years ago and was the galvanizing force behind last year's initial gala fundraising event. She stepped up again this year as the dinner honored Atlantic Automotive Group Chief Operating Officer John Picket and Vice President of Operations Michael Brown.

Although more than 6,000 living donors in the United States donate their kidneys every year, finding and matching donors with recipients is a cumbersome and complex system as there are dozens of transplant programs nationwide and no central nationwide clearinghouse.

That's why Garet Hil, a Babylon resident, launched the National Kidney Registry in 2008. He learned all about the challenges of finding a donor when his then 10-year-old daughter required a transplant.

"As we struggled through the complex and difficult process of finding a compatible donor, it was clear to me that there was a better way," explains Hil in a press statement on how the organization was founded.

"If all incompatible donors and recipients were simply listed in one common pool and modern computer technology was used to find matches, the problems related to incompatible donors would be a thing of the past. The National Kidney Registry was founded to make this vision a reality."

The Registry ultimate goal is to help kidney recipients find a suitable living donor within a six-month time frame for optimal survival outlook. Receiving a pre-emptive transplant and avoiding dialysis leads to a higher rate of success. Transplant recipients, on average, live twice as long as patients who remain on dialysis.  

In two short years the Registry has facilitated 200 kidney transplants and the average matching time is just 10 months, compared to the average industry wait of six years.

Last year's gala benefit attracted about 200 supporters and raised several thousand dollars. This year's event will double, and most likely triple, those accomplishments as 450 tickets had been sold about two weeks before the event.

"Everyone has been so supportive of the registry's mission," says Maher-Brucia. "The community has been so responsive."

Local residents interested in being tested as a potential kidney donor can call the Registry at 517-9546 and speak to Executive Director Tom Mollo. The ideal donor is between the ages of 18 to 50 and does not suffer from high blood pressure.