High school flame reaches out after 40 years to offer kidney to man in need

MAHOMET, Ill. (WAND) — After visiting a doctor to examine a torn rotator cuff, Quintin Porter received some bad news.

"At that time, the doctor said, 'I don’t know when.' My GP said, 'at some point in the next 10, 15, I don’t know when, you’re going to be on dialysis'. So, he said, 'get that into your head now and you’ll have an easier time of dealing with it when it happens,'” explained Porter.

During what he thought was a routine visit, doctors checked his blood work and discovered that he was in stage three kidney disease.

With his kidneys in trouble, Porter went on dialysis. Being tethered to a machine gave him plenty of time to bird watch, sketch, or spend time on his phone. One day, a friend from high school texted him with a surprising offer.

“I dated her back in high school about 40 years ago and she said about that transplant you need, she goes, 'I’ve got your kidney,'” said Porter.

Porter and Christy Stott dated during high school in Glen Ellyn. Now a retiree in Rockford, she wanted to help her old friend.

After an examination, it was found that Stott's kidney was not going to be a good match. But, that didn't stop her from holding up her end of the bargain.

“We went ahead and got in what they called a Paired Exchange Program," explained Porter.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, "Sometimes a donor will want to donate to a recipient, but they’re not compatible, or a good match. This can be due to not having a compatible blood type, antibody levels or other reasons. Some transplant centers will help incompatible pairs of recipient/donors through a process called Kidney Paired Donation, or Paired Exchange, which involves two living donors and two recipients."

"This one was unusual,” says Dr. Christopher Johnson, a nephrologist with RenalCare Associates and medical director for OSF Kidney Transplant.

“Usually with kidneys, the size isn't the biggest thing. But in this situation, it was such a big difference that we thought we could get a better match for him. Her kidney was perfect for someone her size. It's going to take someone off dialysis and extend their life," Dr. Johnson said. "She's also blood type O. She's a universal donor. But the kidney was smaller than what would be ideal to the recipient. So we knew if we put this into a national exchange, we're going to benefit someone else."

Six months later, Porter is living healthy with a kidney from a donor in Miami, Florida. Stott ended up donating her kidney to a person in Cleveland, Ohio.

"And to think, that at least I left a good enough impression on this girl 40 years ago that she thought it might be an okay idea to save me," said Porter. "There’s no doubt about it, that’s what she did. It’s not her kidney inside me but it was her kidney that saved me.”