“My wife Cathy probably could have waited a little while to have her transplant, but who is to say I would be healthy enough to give it to her later on? And I really wanted to do it before she had to go on dialysis.
“It was an easy transition for me, and really no big deal.
"I really never had any fears or reservations, thank goodness. I don’t know why I didn’t because looking back on it, it was a harder decision afterwards than it was before. But that’s what you do for your family. I would have given a kidney for anyone in my family.
“My brother actually wanted to give one of his kidneys to Cathy. He said, ‘I’m retired. I don’t have anything else to do, and I’m healthy. Let me do it,’ but I wouldn’t let him. I told him I couldn’t even live in my house if I let him do it.
“I had a friend that gave a kidney to his nephew, several years ago. He said he had a tough time gaining his strength back, but I really didn’t. After about a month, everything was back to normal for me.
“The man who received my kidney, I met him, and he had been on dialysis three times a week and said he was sick all day long. I can’t imagine how that had changed his life. So that’s the good thing about this. Two lives have been changed in the process, and that’s super neat. I think there are tons of people out there who would give of themselves and not expect to get anything back, just because people need them. There are a lot of good people out there, and that’s the greatest thing.”
David Messer - 11
"I think there are tons of people out there who would give of themselves and not expect to get anything back, just because people need them."