Scott Jablonow

A final kiss goodbye in pre-op for Ellen, the kidney donor, and Scott, her husband, the recipient

Hugs were plentiful in the pre-op unit at Mayo Clinic Hospital just before Ellen Jablonow was wheeled off to surgery on Dec. 18, 2007. She was about to fulfill a promise to donate one of her kidneys to her husband, Scott. Scott's final "I love you" echoed down the hall as onlookers marveled at Ellen's generous gift of life to her husband of 30 years.

But the deal was sealed long before that.

The unthinkable happened for Scott Jablonow in 1977, when he was just 27. While doing the final buffing of the hub caps on his car at a self-serve car wash in Florida, a runaway second car struck him. Hard. That single event would forever change the course of Scott's life. The severe hit propelled him 25 feet into the air and immediately ruptured his spleen, collapsed his lungs, broke several ribs, destroyed one kidney and severely damaged his remaining one.

Scott was flown to the intensive care unit at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where he remained for three months and underwent dialysis for five months. It was there that he met Ellen, who admits she "fell hard" for the young man who exhibited such positive spirit, tenacity and the resolve to heal. Scott vowed that his remaining kidney would recuperate enough to function without long-term dialysis — which it did.

Ellen had been warned by a doctor in the ICU to "not fall in love with Scott, because he probably wouldn't make it." (They said his chances of survival were less than 5 percent.) It was advice she chose to ignore. For one thing, Scott's accident had happened on her birthday, and she felt invested in his care and longevity.

Scott and Ellen were married six months later. On Nov. 15, 2007, they celebrated their 30th anniversary, and Ellen continues to profess that Scott remains "the love of her life."

But the time had come, those three decades later, for Scott to undergo a kidney transplant. Despite his positive attitude and healthy lifestyle, his kidney had deteriorated to 10 percent function. Still, Scott and Ellen celebrated what they describe is tantamount to a miracle. Ellen, to the surprise of their families, shares Scott's same blood and tissue types and qualified to be her husband's kidney donor.

Mayo Clinic nephrologist Dr. Marek Mazur saw the possibilities — and the moment was not lost on him when he learned of the couple's story, their 30-year history and the confirmation that Ellen was an excellent match for Scott. He is especially impressed that Scott's family has established a fund in another state to assist patients with medical expenses — and to raise awareness of organ donation.

All that good fortune and optimism coalesced on the morning of Dec. 18, when Scott and Ellen, surrounded by family members, said their goodbyes and were wheeled to separate operating rooms. In operating room 2, Dr. Paul Andrews skillfully removed Ellen's kidney laparoscopically, explaining that the minimally-invasive procedure results in less postoperative pain and allows patients to be discharged from the hospital sooner (typically in two days). As Dr. Andrews continued his careful cutting and cauterizing to remove the kidney, he remarked that the minimally invasive procedure is a "huge advantage" for the patient and an incentive for people to consider living donation. He did note, "You have a lot of respect for these donors — healthy people who are willing to have surgery to help someone else in such a profound way."

A call was placed to operating room 9, saying that within 10 minutes, they would be ready to turn over Ellen's healthy kidney. On the exact schedule, Dr. Adyr Moss, Scott's surgeon, arrived with a basin of ice to prepare and transport the kidney. Even though such action takes place multiple times at Mayo Clinic Hospital (nearly 90 such living donor kidney transplants took place in 2007 alone), it a moving moment to witness by those in the operating room. Ellen's kidney, as confirmed by both Drs. Andrews and Moss, was "beautiful."

Dr. Moss and the team carefully walked the kidney to the awaiting operating room and then implanted it into Scott's abdomen, where the operating team looks forward to the moment when the new kidney begins to function and produce urine. That moment arrived, and Scott is able to celebrate the new year with a new kidney and a prospect for renewed health.