Three given the gift of life for Christmas

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Would you give the person you love the gift of life this Christmas? What if what they needed would put you in a hospital bed? Well it happened in the East.

Pitt County Memorial Hospital Announced what is believed to be the first successful 6-person kidney exchange in the state.

Three people needed a kidney. They had three willing donors but they weren’t compatible. It became a game of mix and match to get each patient what they needed. Where a relative wasn’t compatible, someone else’s donor was.

Thursday for the first time recipients got to meet the people who gave them a second chance at life.

Joe Kalinowski found out he needed a new kidney in 1998. The pain of dialysis was almost too much to bear for him and neither his wife nor best friend were compatible donors. Discouraged – he was ready to give up.

"I just couldn't handle it very well. To tell you the truth I was not sure i felt like continuing. It was so painful,” he said.

That is until recently. Kalinowski is just one of the people involved in the first ever six-person kidney exchange in the state. The surgeries happened on December 13^th but the hospital kept the identity of the donors secret – until now.

""It was a win -win to me. It's a win-win. I won with Joe and I won with my daughter,” said Kalinowski’s donor, Darlene Williams.

 Her daughter Stephanie Richardson got a kidney from James Collins.

"My mom was supposed to be my donor, he was supposed to be his mom's donor -- it was just like miraculous. I just don't know what to say,” said Richardson.

"I feel like I helped two people. I wanted to donate for my mother and I couldn’t but by me donating my mother was able to get a kidney,” said Collins.

In a full circle, Collins’ mother Lynette got a kidney from Kalinowski’s best friend.

"I describe this as a miracle from God. Totally,” she said.

Now the incredible act of love has created a life-long bond between strangers.

"We've already exchanged information, given out personal home addresses, emails, phone numbers,” said James Collins.

"This is going to be a lifelong relationship between us. Absolutely,” said Lynette Collins.

The best gift you can give for the holidays is the gift of life.

"I'll look at every day differently and especially at the holidays,” said Lynette Collins.

"My Christmas shopping is over. God bless you,” said Williams.

There are only about 200 kidney exchanges that occur in the country each year. Doctors hope to see that number increase in the near future.

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GREENVILLE, N.C. - Three people in the east were given the gift of life this Christmas.

Doctors from Pitt County Memorial Hospital announced today what is believed to be the first successful six-person kidney exchange in the Carolinas.

Chief of Transplant Surgery, Dr. Robert Harland says its the culmination of a process that has taken more than a year.

Each of the recipients had a willing donor who was not a match, so by swapping donors they were all able to get the transplant.

The identity of each of the donors was kept a secret until today.

Coming up tonight at 5 and 6 we'll take a deeper look at this groundbreaking surgery and meet the people who now get a second chance at life.