‘It is Past Phrases How Grateful We Are’: Kidney Recipients Meet Their Donors

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It’s a day to recollect for a handful of strangers who now share a particular bond.

5 Minnesota kidney donors and recipients met for the primary time Friday morning.

It’s not every single day a 28 12 months outdated from St. Paul and a 5 12 months outdated from the Iron Vary turn into buddies. However for Fernando Cornejo and Charlie Benda, it was inevitable.

Cornejo gave younger Benda one thing he desperately wanted – a brand new kidney.

“To fulfill somebody who may selflessly surrender a chunk of their physique to my son to assist him develop turn into stronger, and as I used to be telling Fernando, it’s past phrases how grateful we’re,” stated Josh Benda, Charlie Benda’s dad.

Cornejo initially hoped to donate a kidney to his mother, however they weren’t a match.

However fortunately, his mom’s story has a contented ending too.

Cornejo’s mother Teresa discovered her good match in a nurse from Lakeville.

A selfless act from Charlie Benda’s great-aunt, Jennifer Beauregard, began the domino impact of donations.

For Charlie Benda, who simply had his birthday this week, he has a brand new lease on life, and may run into his future full pace forward.

The matches have been made by medical doctors on the College of Minnesota, who’ve probably the most superior DNA sequencing expertise on the planet for it.

For 3,000 individuals in Minnesota, they’re nonetheless on the checklist for a transplant.

For extra details about donating, click on right here.