An Evening to Remember: Kidney Donors Recognized at Living Donor Appreciation Dinner
 Cynthia Bringas (second from right), of Irvington, received a kidney from her sister Nerita Velada (third from right), on August 21, 2000. Shown with them at the Living Donor Appreciation Dinner, from left, are Jennifer Hinkis, R.N., Transplant Coordinator at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Judy Varona, Annette Bringas, and, on the far right, Tatiana Alvarez, R.N., also a Transplant Coordinator at Newark Beth Israel.
Over 650 guests comprised of 150 kidney donors, their recipients, family and friends, and staff members from the Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center gathered this spring for the Living Donor Appreciation Dinner. The event, held at the East Brunswick Hilton, provides an opportunity for transplant patients to acknowledge and thank their loved one for donating a kidney to them. It also provides a forum for hospital staff members to salute each kidney donor for his or her selfless act of courage. Some guests represent recent transplants while others represent transplants that took place as long as 20 years ago.
 Among guests at the Saint Barnabas Health Care System’s Living Donor Appreciation Dinner were Robert Hughes of Cedar Grove and his sister Marjorie Harlow of Bryan, Ohio. Mrs. Harlow traveled from Ohio to donate a kidney to her brother on December 22, 1999. At the time, she was 68 years old and Saint Barnabas’ oldest kidney donor.
The Living Donor Appreciation Dinner included a keynote address by Ronald J. Del Mauro, President and CEO of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, as well as presentations by physicians and other staff. The evening also featured the reading of emotionally-charged letters and poems, as kidney recipients expressed their profound gratitude for a gift that literally transformed their lives. Likewise, donors shared the gratification they felt for being able to save their loved one’s life.
 Guests of all ages enjoyed the warm atmosphere of the Living Donor Appreciation Dinner. Here, kidney donor Celeste Waters and her 10-year-old daughter Arabia Germany are shown with kidney recipient Kimberly Padilla and her 9-year-old son Antonio. Both women are from Newark.
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