8-person kidney exchange patients meet in Loma Linda
LOMA LINDA, Calif. (KABC) -- It was an emotional reunion at the University Transplant Institute in Loma Linda Friday as all of the participants involved in an eight-person kidney exchange were in the same room for the first time since their successful surgeries.
The living donation chain began with Deputy Tracey Newton of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Newton gave her kidney even though she didn't personally know anyone who needed the vital organ.
"Once you donate, your heart is kind of like The Grinch ... it expands a little more because you're like 'Wow, what more can I do?'" Newton said.
Her donation inspired three others to do the same. The eight people affected in the end were able to exchange flowers with each other during the reunion.
