Local Woman To Receive Kidney From Anonymous Donor

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Christmas is the season for giving, or giving back. A few days before Christmas, a local woman will get a gift that is pretty high on her list.

Her kidneys have been failing for a number of years, but in a few days, she will undergo a kidney transplant at Allegheny General Hospital.

Her new kidney is from an anonymous donor.

KDKA-TV's Brenda Waters will be there next week for the surgery, but we thought you might like to meet the patient.

Tim and Kathy Brophy are putting the finishing touches on the Christmas decorations inside their Brighton Heights home.

This holiday has always been special to them, especially this year.

"I knew it would come sometime, just not this quickly," Kathy said.

She was born with vesicoureteric reflux. It's a kidney defect that causes the backward flow of urine. It flows from the bladder back into the kidneys. At 54, Brophy's kidneys are failing.

She's been on dialysis since February, which she does at home. Ultimately, Brophy needs a transplant and family members were tested first.

"But, the people who were able to be tested were a match, but not healthy enough to donate," she said.

Then, she found out about a special program.

"There is a program called Paired Matching, where if you have someone who will donate for you to a pool, someone from the pool can donate a kidney back to you," she said.

Brophy said she got the call on Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. that a kidney had been found for her. The donor is anonymous, but she does know it's a 48-year-old woman from Madison, Wisconsin.

What would she say to the woman if she met her?

"I would let her know how grateful I am for her gift because that is such an amazing gift to someone you don't even know," Brophy said.

Brophy's surgery is Tuesday, Dec. 22.

It's the best Christmas gift they could have received. They just had to believe.