Salvation Army Employee Donates Kidney To Co-Worker
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Thousands of people die every year waiting for a kidney transplant, but a minister at the Salvation Army is making sure her co-worker doesn't end up on that list.
Michael Riemer, Director of Emergency Disaster Services at The Salvation Army's Western Pennsylvania Division, is to receive a kidney Tuesday from co-worker Kate Esker.
"It's the biggest day of my life, because I get a second chance at life," Riemer tells KDKA's Brenda Waters.
Riemer, 55, found out in his mid-20's that he was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic disorder that took the lives of his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
Riemer says PKD's progression is long and slow, and remained private about his diagnosis for 30 years.
He has devoted his life to helping others. Riemer served Mt. Lebanon as a police officer for 25 years, and currently oversees disaster relief for The Salvation Army's Western PA Division's 28 counties.
When Allegheny General Hospital proposed to Riemer several months ago to go public in order to find potential donors, Esker, Core Officer and minister at McKeesport's Salvation Army Worship and Service Center, immediately wished to help.
"I told my husband on the way home I wanted to see if I was a match," says Esker. "I know Mike pretty well, and I like the life that he lives... there is so much life ahead of him."
Riemer says he is forever indebted to Esker and her family.
"How do you begin to say thank you to someone who's given you life a second time over? There's not enough words; there's not enough money in the world for this gift, a second time."
Esker is "more excited than nervous." She and Riemer would encourage anyone who knows someone who needs a kidney to check if they are a fit.
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