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American Morning

Medical Match

Aired September 30, 2002 - 09:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to the incredible story of two families who in a desperate search for organ donors found each other. In a rare medical matchup, Emily Smith donated a kidney to Sara St. Pierre. While Sara's father Fred St. Pierre did the same thing for Emily's sister, Britney. The transplants were performed last month in Boston. Doctors say they are among a small number of family and family organ exchanges, and this mourning from Boston, we are joined by the donors and their recipients, Sara and Fred St. Pierre, along with Emily and Britney Smith.
Good morning to you all. Welcome. Congratulations.

Fred, you must be so relieved this worked out the way it did.

FRED ST. PIERRE, KIDNEY DONOR: Definitely nice to have it behind us.

ZAHN: How did you make it happen?

ST. PIERRE: I don't know that I was as forward as some people have put it, but I know that we just wanted to get Sara feeling better, and just stayed after whatever it took to get things going, and definitely her mother was making connections all the time to keep in touch, and it's been nice to have a support group around us.

ZAHN: Sara, could you believe it when this all came together the way it did?

SARA ST. PIERRE, ORGAN RECIPIENT: No, not really.

ZAHN: And when you heard that this was going to be a sort of cross-family matchup, you had to think the odds of this were one in a million, or maybe 50 million.

S. ST. PIERRE: Yes, I got a little bit nervous that it wasn't going to happen.

ZAHN: Britney, tell us a little more about how you felt when you heard this would even be a possibility.

BRITNEY SMITH, ORGAN RECIPIENT: Well, I felt excited, but at the same time, I had no clue as to what to expect in the future with the kidney and how it would work in terms of my body and with the medicines and everything.

ZAHN: Because, Britney, you had one transplant from your own father, right? SMITH: Yes.

ZAHN: And that didn't work?

SMITH: It worked for five.

ZAHN: OK. And then when you were given the second chance, were you hopeful or were you afraid there would be rejection once again?

SMITH: I was hopeful, but I had my doubts due to some complications with an anti-body that none of the doctors or lab technicians had seen before, so they didn't recognize it, and they didn't know how it would react to the kidney.

ZAHN: Emily, you were only 18 years old. That is a pretty brave move to decide to put your name on the donor list. Was it just because of your sister's pain and what you watched her endure that you were so committed to doing that.

EMILY SMITH, KIDNEY DONOR: Yes, basically. I knew that if I did this or had the chance to, that I would be helping her, no matter which way we did this.

ZAHN: How scared were you?

E. SMITH: I was nervous, but I wasn't scared. I just didn't know what to expect from. I had never been through surgery before.

ZAHN: And when you look at your sister and see how vibrant and healthy she is now, what do you think?

E. SMITH: I think she is back to the way she was before. She is normal.

ZAHN: Some things never change in households.

Sara, let's go back to you for a moment. So it was Britney's sister, Emily, that gave you one of her kidneys. Tell me, once again, a little bit more about this trade, and now that it's been done, how you all relate to each other.

S. ST. PIERRE: Well, I think there's a bond between us, familywise, that they are going to be a part of our lives. I do have her kidney, so I need to keep in touch with her and stuff.

ZAHN: I want to come back to Britney for a moment. When you met Fred for the first time, what did you say to him.

S. SMITH: Well, when he came to the hospital, I told my mom, this isn't like an odd story, that I love the name Fred, and I have never met him. So I didn't know his name. So I decided that I didn't know him and I didn't know if I would meet him, that I would name the kidney Fred anyway. And it was odd because he came in my room, the hospital room, and said his name was Fred, and that was just a big coincidence. So it was exciting, yes. ZAHN: Fred, when you see Britney smile and you see how full of energy she is, you've got to feel very good about what you have done here.

F. PIERRE: Yes, I remember Sara a long time ago, struggling through different surgeries and so on. When I first met Britney, she had just come in from outside and she was pretty tired, and I remember Sara from that position, and it was nice to see how appreciative she was, and she has a lot more energy than she did that day, but it was been a lot of fun to get to know more.

ZAHN: And, Sara, how grateful to you for what Emily did for you?

S. ST. PIERRE: Very grateful. There is no way that I will ever be able to thank her.

ZAHN: I guess just seeing each other sitting there must be enough to see everybody healthy and vibrant. Well, we appreciate your all sharing your story with us this morning.

Fred, just a closing thought on how unusual it is that your two families were brought together the way they have been.

F. ST. PIERRE: I give a lot of credit to hospital and the organ bank, making the connection that we knew we needed to get something going, and you know, that's why we are here now, to try get it out to the public, that there is possibilities to go, and really hate to see people have to struggle, you know, a long time on dialysis and so on.

And there are answers, and this definitely worked out well for me to be able to spend more time active instead of spending time at the hospital, or you know, back and forth to dialysis and that kind of stuff, traveling Sara, when she first started and so on. So it is nice to go ahead.

ZAHN: It is nice to actually share some very good news with our audience this morning. We wish you all very good luck. Sara and Britney, stay strong. Keep on smiling, and again, thanks for spending a little bit of your time this morning with us this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 30, 2002 - 09:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to the incredible story of two families who in a desperate search for organ donors found each other. In a rare medical matchup, Emily Smith donated a kidney to Sara St. Pierre. While Sara's father Fred St. Pierre did the same thing for Emily's sister, Britney. The transplants were performed last month in Boston. Doctors say they are among a small number of family and family organ exchanges, and this mourning from Boston, we are joined by the donors and their recipients, Sara and Fred St. Pierre, along with Emily and Britney Smith.
Good morning to you all. Welcome. Congratulations.

Fred, you must be so relieved this worked out the way it did.

FRED ST. PIERRE, KIDNEY DONOR: Definitely nice to have it behind us.

ZAHN: How did you make it happen?

ST. PIERRE: I don't know that I was as forward as some people have put it, but I know that we just wanted to get Sara feeling better, and just stayed after whatever it took to get things going, and definitely her mother was making connections all the time to keep in touch, and it's been nice to have a support group around us.

ZAHN: Sara, could you believe it when this all came together the way it did?

SARA ST. PIERRE, ORGAN RECIPIENT: No, not really.

ZAHN: And when you heard that this was going to be a sort of cross-family matchup, you had to think the odds of this were one in a million, or maybe 50 million.

S. ST. PIERRE: Yes, I got a little bit nervous that it wasn't going to happen.

ZAHN: Britney, tell us a little more about how you felt when you heard this would even be a possibility.

BRITNEY SMITH, ORGAN RECIPIENT: Well, I felt excited, but at the same time, I had no clue as to what to expect in the future with the kidney and how it would work in terms of my body and with the medicines and everything.

ZAHN: Because, Britney, you had one transplant from your own father, right? SMITH: Yes.

ZAHN: And that didn't work?

SMITH: It worked for five.

ZAHN: OK. And then when you were given the second chance, were you hopeful or were you afraid there would be rejection once again?

SMITH: I was hopeful, but I had my doubts due to some complications with an anti-body that none of the doctors or lab technicians had seen before, so they didn't recognize it, and they didn't know how it would react to the kidney.

ZAHN: Emily, you were only 18 years old. That is a pretty brave move to decide to put your name on the donor list. Was it just because of your sister's pain and what you watched her endure that you were so committed to doing that.

EMILY SMITH, KIDNEY DONOR: Yes, basically. I knew that if I did this or had the chance to, that I would be helping her, no matter which way we did this.

ZAHN: How scared were you?

E. SMITH: I was nervous, but I wasn't scared. I just didn't know what to expect from. I had never been through surgery before.

ZAHN: And when you look at your sister and see how vibrant and healthy she is now, what do you think?

E. SMITH: I think she is back to the way she was before. She is normal.

ZAHN: Some things never change in households.

Sara, let's go back to you for a moment. So it was Britney's sister, Emily, that gave you one of her kidneys. Tell me, once again, a little bit more about this trade, and now that it's been done, how you all relate to each other.

S. ST. PIERRE: Well, I think there's a bond between us, familywise, that they are going to be a part of our lives. I do have her kidney, so I need to keep in touch with her and stuff.

ZAHN: I want to come back to Britney for a moment. When you met Fred for the first time, what did you say to him.

S. SMITH: Well, when he came to the hospital, I told my mom, this isn't like an odd story, that I love the name Fred, and I have never met him. So I didn't know his name. So I decided that I didn't know him and I didn't know if I would meet him, that I would name the kidney Fred anyway. And it was odd because he came in my room, the hospital room, and said his name was Fred, and that was just a big coincidence. So it was exciting, yes. ZAHN: Fred, when you see Britney smile and you see how full of energy she is, you've got to feel very good about what you have done here.

F. PIERRE: Yes, I remember Sara a long time ago, struggling through different surgeries and so on. When I first met Britney, she had just come in from outside and she was pretty tired, and I remember Sara from that position, and it was nice to see how appreciative she was, and she has a lot more energy than she did that day, but it was been a lot of fun to get to know more.

ZAHN: And, Sara, how grateful to you for what Emily did for you?

S. ST. PIERRE: Very grateful. There is no way that I will ever be able to thank her.

ZAHN: I guess just seeing each other sitting there must be enough to see everybody healthy and vibrant. Well, we appreciate your all sharing your story with us this morning.

Fred, just a closing thought on how unusual it is that your two families were brought together the way they have been.

F. ST. PIERRE: I give a lot of credit to hospital and the organ bank, making the connection that we knew we needed to get something going, and you know, that's why we are here now, to try get it out to the public, that there is possibilities to go, and really hate to see people have to struggle, you know, a long time on dialysis and so on.

And there are answers, and this definitely worked out well for me to be able to spend more time active instead of spending time at the hospital, or you know, back and forth to dialysis and that kind of stuff, traveling Sara, when she first started and so on. So it is nice to go ahead.

ZAHN: It is nice to actually share some very good news with our audience this morning. We wish you all very good luck. Sara and Britney, stay strong. Keep on smiling, and again, thanks for spending a little bit of your time this morning with us this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com