When Jim Tucker needed a kidney transplant, his fraternity brother and lifelong friend Steve Round stepped up. Now, the two share a bond that鈥檚 stronger than ever.
There鈥檚 nothing quite like an old friend鈥攅specially when that friend saves your life by giving you one of his kidneys at age 72.
Steve Round 鈥�73 and Jim Tucker 鈥�73, M.A. 鈥�76, were fraternity brothers at 溏心vlog免费B站. Their paths crossed several times after graduation, but it wasn鈥檛 until they were both married with kids that they fully rekindled their friendship.
By then Jim had parlayed his master鈥檚 degree in philosophy into a successful career as a computer programmer, while Steve took a sharp turn from his English degree and went into jewelry manufacturing. Both men changed careers in midlife; Jim to an alternative medicine practice and Steve to teaching elementary school. Life is rarely a straight line.
Their kids grew up together and the two couples vacationed together. But as they approached retirement, Jim was diagnosed with a hereditary kidney condition known as polycystic kidney disease, and suddenly he was facing dialysis and early death. As his kidneys deteriorated, Jim became anemic, and his energy level plummeted.
His only hope was a kidney transplant, but finding a donor was no small task. In Rhode Island, the wait time for a kidney is five to seven years, and half of all patients older than 60 die before they get a transplant.
One day, the two friends were walking with their wives and Jim grew exhausted so quickly he had to go back. On the way, he told Steve how discouraged he was by his inability to find a donor. The next day, Steve called his friend to say he was willing to part with one of his kidneys. Jim was speechless.
鈥淲hat do you say to someone who offers you a part of their own body?鈥� he says.
But as Steve soon found out, making that decision was the easy part. Getting approved was an ordeal. Both men had to undergo a daunting battery of tests that stretched on for nearly a year鈥擬RI, EKG, blood tests, urine tests, cancer screening, tests for tuberculosis, HIV, venereal disease, bone marrow matching, and more.
When they were nearly done, Jim got a call while he was waiting in the doctor鈥檚 office. It was Steve鈥檚 wife. Steve had just failed the cardiac stress test and was removed from the donor list. Jim was back to square one.
His kids and other family members had already tried to become donors, but none qualified. So, Jim prepared for dialysis, which, to him, seemed like a slow march to the grave.
鈥淭his is the most remarkable part,鈥� says Jim. 鈥淪everal weeks later I heard from the hospital that they had a potential donor. I had dinner with Steve that night and told him the good news.鈥�
鈥淛im,鈥� he said after a long pause, 鈥渢he new donor is me.鈥�
After Steve failed the cardiac stress test, he contacted a cardiologist and arranged for an expensive angiogram test, which confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his heart after all. When he won approval, he didn鈥檛 tell Jim right away because he didn鈥檛 want him to endure the disappointment if something else went wrong.
Finally, on Feb. 28, 2023, the two friends found themselves on tables in adjoining operating rooms, where two surgeons conducted the operation, one removing the kidney from Steve and the other performing the transplant to Jim. The procedure was supposed to take four hours but took seven and a half hours because the donor kidney had several extra arteries that had to be surgically closed before it could be implanted in Jim.
Ten months later, both of Steve鈥檚 kidneys are doing great鈥攐ne in Steve and the other in Jim. Rather than living his life on a dialysis machine, Jim is back to doing carpentry around the house and restoring old cars.
鈥淗e鈥檚 back to the old Jim,鈥� says Steve.
鈥擝ill Ibelle
Jim and Steve hope their story will inspire others to consider becoming kidney donors. Information is available at .
Photo: Courtesy Jim Tucker