The Essence of Charity: Catholic Charities employee donates kidney to co-worker
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
Mary Jane DiPaolo and Cindy Warner, coworkers with Catholic Charities Metuchen, have spent the last 11 years helping needy families through the Unified Child Care Division.
But when kidney failure forced DiPaolo to seek a donor for a kidney transplant, she found herself the recipient of some charity from Warner, who donated one of her kidneys in a successful transplant surgery Oct. 19.
Working together in the same division as long as they have makes them like members of a family, DiPaolo said, so she wasn’t surprised when Warner and four other co-workers volunteered to donate a kidney.
“She (Warner) is very altruistic, but this is just awe-inspiring,” DiPaolo, division director, said the night before the surgery, which took place in St. Luke’s Hospital, New York.
For Warner, the division’s business administrator, it was something she felt compelled to do for a friend as well as a co-worker.
“There are so many times you see people who are sick and you say, ‘I wish I could do something,’ and this time I could,” Warner said.
In early September, Catholic Charities e-mailed its employees about DiPaolo’s condition. She had been undergoing kidney dialysis three days a week for three months in St. Clare’s Hospital, Dover.
DiPaolo, 47, of Sparta, said she was afflicted with polycystic kidney disease, which is hereditary. Her two brothers and sister already had successful kidney transplants because of it.
DiPaolo’s husband, Thomas, and a cousin as well as the employees from Catholic Charities volunteered to donate a kidney, but only Warner proved a suitable match.
Marianne Majewski, executive director of the Office of Catholic Charities, said the transplant volunteers reflect the character of all its employees.
“I was speechless when I learned how many staff members actually volunteered to be a donor and that one person was actually a match,” Majewski said. “The generosity and caring expressed through this act is inspiring and touching to everyone here at Catholic Charities. I am constantly impressed with the staff who work here; they exemplify the agency’s mission, not only in their professional lives, but in their personal lives as well.”
DiPaolo was joined by her husband and their children, daughters Jaime, 20, and Patricia, 15, at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Speaking to Warner, 45, the night before the surgery, she said she had to undergo blood work and scanning to make sure she was not only a suitable match, but healthy enough to undergo the procedure. She said she wasn’t nervous.
“We each have our own surgeons. Mine went over everything with me and my husband (Charles) last week. He told us what they do and what the time frame is,” Warner said.
”He (Charles) said he’d support me, whatever I decided to do,” she added.
Warner’s surgery lasted about four hours and was successful, said Annie Lachs, a spokeswoman for Catholic Charities. DiPaolo’s surgery lasted about 12 hours. She was in stable condition at press time.
“I should recover fully and the only complaints, normally, the first couple weeks after is fatigue. There should be no lasting effects,” Warner said.
DiPaolo, a member of Blessed Kateri Parish, Sparta, said her faith helped give her courage before the surgery, which will keep her out of work about two months. The only other major surgery she’s had is the removal of a rib about 20 years ago.
“I’m asking everyone I know to pray,” she said.
Warner, of Stewartsville, is a member of Wesley United Methodist Church, Philipsburg. She said her faith is also helping her through the surgery and the prayers of others.
“A close friend of mine is a (Catholic) deacon, so between his parish and our church and Catholic Charities, a lot of people have been saying prayers,” Warner said.
Dr. Allan Benvenisty oversaw the kidney transplant. He has more than 500 transplants to his credit, a spokesman for St. Luke’s Hospital said.
The Unified Child Care Division provides a resource and referral database for low-income families living or working in Middlesex and Somerset counties.
The division also provides financial assistance to income-eligible families who are paying for child care and resources on issues including: choosing child care, child development milestones, behavioral issues and other topics related to raising children.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law