In April 2002, Marty Weber of Barnegat, N.J., gave one of his healthy kidneys to someone he had never met before. The 38-year-old, self-employed landscaper had signed the back of his driver’s license years ago to indicate he wanted to donate his organs upon death. However, when he heard about another man in need, he says the decision to make an altruistic living donation was easy.
Mr. Weber has known Robert Friedland’s parents for 10 years. “I heard his mother crying one day,” he remembers. “When I asked her what was wrong she said her son had renal failure and needed a kidney transplant.” Unfortunately, family members were not eligible to donate. “I thought about it and realized, ‘Why wait, if I can donate my kidney to someone who needs it now?’” That night Mr. Weber called Mrs. Friedland to ask if he could be tested.
Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 11, Robert Friedland of Livingston, now age 46, was suffering with kidney failure and began renal dialysis in 2000. “Dialysis was taking a toll on me physically and mentally,” says the husband and father of two teenage boys and a 5-year-old girl. “Marty is a very special person. He gave me an organ out of the kindness of his heart.”
Mr. Weber’s experience as a volunteer emergency medical technician with Barnegat First Aid influenced his decision to become an altruistic donor. “I have seen people who wanted to donate their organs pronounced dead at the scene of an accident and their wishes never fulfilled,” he says. In contrast to New Jersey law, many states require that resuscitation efforts proceed on all individuals until they arrive at the hospital where family members are contacted and physicians can evaluate the victim’s potential to donate. “We need to change the law in this state,” Mr. Weber says with conviction. He plans a visit New Jersey Congressman Jim Saxton to do just that.
“The transplant has been a rebirth for me, a renaissance,” says Mr. Friedland. “ I have more time for my family and can be productive at work. I feel better than I have in years. Without the transplant I wouldn’t have any of this.”
Mr. Weber confirms that the act of donation has greatly enriched his life and fostered a strong bond between the two men. “I feel good in my heart – like I’ve made a difference in someone else’s life. Robert and I are like brothers now. It feels like we’ve known each other for years.”
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