When they started to fall in love in 1982, Jim Labati did not know what to expect when his wife Janet said she had something to tell him.
"I looked at her and said, 'Are you married?' She says no," Labati recalled. "I said, 'Are you pregnant?' She says no. 'Do you have a child?' She says no. She goes, 'I need a kidney'. I was so relieved and feeling relieved, I said, 'Oh I’ll give you a kidney'."
Kidney disease has taken a toll on Janet’s life since she was 10 years old.
"As much as I’ve been challenged medically," Janet said. "I feel that I am a very lucky woman."
Last year, she learned her second transplanted kidney was failing.
"I contacted hospice to discuss end of life care," Janet said. "I couldn’t imagine going back to dialysis for the rest of my life, never dreamed I would have had a third transplant."
That’s when Dr. Peter Yoo and the Paired Kidney Transplant Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital stepped in.
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"Her husband was willing to donate," Woo said. "But they were incompatible."
Fortunately, Jim’s kidney was a match for another recipient in need of a kidney and the transplant team was able to pair Janet with her perfect match.
"We think this is a record," Yale-New Haven Health President Rick D’Aquila said. "We know this is a record for Connecticut."
Between May 9 and June 21, the Yale-New Haven Transplantation Center completed a series of connected and successful surgical procedures for an 18-patient, nine-kidney exchange.
"Everybody was going to get an appropriate kidney for them," Yoo said. "And we’re going to overcome some otherwise insurmountable hurdles."
All but four of the donors and recipients are from Connecticut.
"It’s a real Nutmeg state story," Yoo said.
On Thursday afternoon, the group gathered together to celebrate this medical milestone.
"Fast forward 35 years later and here I am," Jim said. "I donated a kidney so Janet could receive a kidney. The moral of a story is a woman never forgets a promise."
"I don’t think anything comes close to defining love more than what you did," Janet said. "I thank you for that."
