'Would've given him both': Woman from southern Maine donates kidney to her son
Stephen Gross was a happy, healthy baby growing up in Massachusetts. But at 3 years old, he developed chronic kidney disease.
"He had an infection from a very bad strain of E. coli," said Susan Gross, Stephen's mother, who lives in York, Maine.
For much of his young life, Stephen Gross did what he could to stay healthy. He ran track in high school, but he became ill in his early 30s.
"Pretty much, he was hanging on by a thread," Susan Gross said.
The Gross family put off the inevitable, which included dialysis and getting him on the kidney transplant list.
"Dialysis was very difficult," Stephen Gross said. "I always kind of carried this cloud with me, like something bad was going to happen."
Stephen joined the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Susan went through the screening process to see if she would be a match, and it turned out she was.
In May 2023, the mother and son reported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where surgeons successfully transplanted one of Susan's kidneys to Stephen.
"He was feeling so different, so fast," Susan said. "When I woke up from the surgery, and I said: 'How's Stephen? Does he have the...' 'Yup, he has the kidney, it's working.'"
Susan and Stephen left the hospital three days after the surgery.
"I've lost nothing. My life is probably better than it was. I felt good. I started swimming," Susan said.
The donor experience led Susan to become a competitive swimmer. A year after her surgery, she joined other donors in the 2024 Transplant Games of America in Alabama.
"I won. The first race I did was the 500 freestyle, and I came in first. Oh my god," she said.
Susan went on to win five medals: three gold medals and two silver medals.
Stephen, 35, is now living in Michigan.
"I got to the point after the transplant that I was feeling so good, to me that's the ultimate freedom when you're not thinking about it, you're just living your life," Stephen said. "But I felt so guilty that I was feeling so good. I set aside time each day to thank my mother and her kidney for the life they give me every day. It's a great source of information."
Susan Gross said she feels being an organ donor and giving her son one of her kidneys is an honor.
"I mean, to be able to have some part of me that could then go to someone and allow that life to happen for them — I just find that to be the biggest honor I'll ever have," Susan said.
As the New England Donor Services celebrates National Kidney Month, they want people to know the need for organ donations is critical saying an estimated 90,000 Americans await life-saving transplants. If you'd like to learn more, you can visit the website ReigsterME.org.
