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SUMMIT, N.J. - They were strangers who shared a dire problem, two women whose husbands each needed a kidney but who could not give one of their own to their spouse.
After being brought together by a hospital and arranging a swap in which each woman donated a kidney to the other's husband, they planned to share Thanksgiving dinner Thursday to celebrate the arrangement that saved two lives and bonded four new friends.
"I can't comprehend what this Thanksgiving would have been like without that kidney swap in April," said one of the women, Rosalind Dorlen, a psychologist in Summit.
"This is an entirely miraculous holiday," added Ann Heavner, a retired financial researcher for Standard & Poors who lives in New York City.
The women wanted to help their husbands, but couldn't because of incompatible blood types. Dorlen's husband, David, 71, was undergoing kidney failure after years of high blood pressure. Heavner's husband, Tom Packard, 65, a senior vice president at Wachovia Securities, also had high blood pressure and a congenital condition that put added stress on his kidneys, requiring painful dialysis three times a week.
Both men knew they needed new kidneys, and set out with their wives to research what was available. They learned of a kidney swap program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center that brings together families just like theirs.
Since the surgery, the couples have become close friends, and planned to gather in the Dorlens' home on Thursday to express how truly grateful they are.
"In the words of that immortal philosopher Yogi Berra, when they gave him a special day to honor him in St. Louis, he stepped up to the microphone and told everyone, "Thank you for making this day necessary,"' Packard said. "I want to thank you for coming here to celebrate this wonderful miracle, and for making this Thanksgiving necessary."