Renewal Celebrates 150 Transplants

You usually don’t think of organ donation as something to celebrate. Don’t tell that to the people of Renewal. Last Thursday over 300 people got together for a lavish reception at the Renaissance Ballroom in Brooklyn to honor their kidney donors, an elite group of selfless individuals who have given the gift of life to others, often to complete strangers.

It was perhaps the largest gathering of organ donors in one place – 76 donors, together with many of their healthy recipients and some of the organization’s principle financial supporters.

“Wow,” exclaimed Yossi Lieber, the emcee for the evening. “What are the odds that I would be in a room with so many people with only one kidney?”

“It’s not often our donors get a chance to meet each other,” added Mendy Reiner, the founder and Chairman of Renewal. “These are people from all walks of life that have this incredible bond with each other. There was an amazing energy in the room.”

The evening was held in part to kick off the Ambassadors of Renewal program, an initiative to spread the word about the great work the organization does through its donors and supporters. In the coming months, small Shabbatons will be held throughout the tri-state area giving communities a chance to meet these heroes and join their efforts to save the lives of people with chronic kidney disease.

On hand was kidney recipient Molly Pomp and her donor, who had remained anonymous till now. At age 26, Molly, who lives in Israel, was confined to debilitating dialysis until Renewal was able to find a matching donor for her, one whose blood type and antigens made the transplant feasible. Molly’s husband was so moved by the kindness of this stranger that he decided to become a donor himself. This evening was the first time the donor, Mr. Fishel Karmel from Boro Park, spoke publicly about his donation.

“We’ve found that our donors and their recipients are the best representatives for the organization,” Reiner said. “The stories they tell move people in countless ways.”

Renewal is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting people suffering from various forms of kidney disease. They are a multi-faceted proactive team that saves lives by supporting kidney donors, matching them with recipients, and supporting patients and their families at every stage of their journey towards health. Since its founding in 2007, Renewal has facilitated over 150 kidney transplants in four countries.