Woman Gives Her Husband a True Gift — A Kidney

By Dolores Orman
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
January 7, 2006

Nancy Ferrauilo gave her husband, Michael, a special gift Thursday — one of her kidneys.

The transplant operation happened at Strong Memorial Hospital. There had never been a doubt in her mind about what she would do when her husband's kidney disease progressed to the end stage of failure.

"I knew when the time came, I would try and be a donor for him," Nancy Ferrauilo said Friday by telephone from her hospital room.

"I would do anything for him," she said, her voice choking with tears. "I would do anything for him."

The testing proved that she was a match to be her husband's kidney donor.
"She's something special," Michael Ferrauilo said in a separate interview from the hospital.

Married 16 years, the Greece couple, both 41, have two daughters, Olivia, 13, and Emily, 12.
Michael Ferrauilo is a mechanical contractor with his own business, M.A. Ferrauilo Plumbing and Heating on Jay Street in Rochester. His wife is a teacher's aide at St. Lawrence School in Greece. The family belongs to St. Lawrence Church.

Nancy Ferrauilo also wanted to send a message to the public, particularly those with friends or relatives in dialysis or in need of a transplant. "I would like for people to realize they can do this, too," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. "They can try and be a donor for someone else."

"The average waiting time for a kidney transplant for someone in Rochester who doesn't have a living donor is 4 years," said Dr. Martin S. Zand, medical director of the kidney transplant program at Strong. "In New York City, the wait is 7 years," he said.

"The real important thing to know is those people who are medically able to get a transplant, it triples their remaining life," he said.

A spouse-to-spouse kidney transplant donation is not a rarity.
"It's pretty common these days," said Martin.

The source of Ferrauilo's illness was polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disease that is the fourth most common cause of kidney failure in the United States, said Zand. Diabetes is the top cause. Polycystic kidney disease is marked by the development and growth of cysts in the kidney. The disease progresses to the point where the kidney loses its function.

Michael Ferrauilo was 18 when he was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease.

"This has been part of my life since I was a kid," he said. "It was just a matter of time. The disease never affected me as a child."

He had been in "pretty good shape" until last February, when he developed an infection. His kidneys ended up going into failure.

Nancy Ferrauilo started the series of tests in May at Strong to become a donor. "We always knew the possibility was dialysis and transplant," she said. "When we got the news (that she was a match), it was a blessing, it was just a blessing."

Her husband started dialysis last July. In November, doctors removed both of his kidneys after determining it was necessary before transplant surgery could be performed.
"The kidney's functioning very well," Nancy Ferrauilo said. "He's doing remarkably better."

Ferrauilo described his condition. "It's unbelievable," he said. "Even a day after the surgery, I have a lot more energy, a lot more color."

Then his thoughts turned to his wife. "She drove this whole thing," he said. "If it was me, without her, I would be in dialysis for the rest of my life."