Co-worker kidneytransplant cures twoRecipient now alive and well; donorfreed from painful vascular condition

"Their story is amazing and extremely unusual," said Oscar Salvatierra, the transplant surgeon who performed the operation. "Her kidney is happier in him than it was in her."

The donor, a Fremont resident named Teresa, suffered from a rare condition in which the vein that supplies blood to the kidney is pinched off. While the kidney was working, the disrupted blood flow caused her serious pain.

Teresa's condition was diagnosed by Stanford doctors more than three years ago, but no treatment seemed to work. Before deciding to go through with major surgery, she met Wallace, a co-worker suffering from kidney failure.

"I really believe fate brought us together," Teresa said. "When I met Wally, it just felt right."

The Stanford University Medical Center says the two were casual acquaintances in a Bay Area company when Wallace's kidney function dropped low enough to require dialysis. When he stopped by the office to let his co-workers know he would be out for a few weeks, Teresa stepped up to the plate and offered her kidney.

"I didn't have to think about it at all," she said. "I just knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to do."

After passing several medical and biological tests, Salvatierra gave Teresa the OK for the operation, which was performed last Monday. Doctors say Wallace's new kidney is functioning well and Teresa is pain-free for the first time in years.

Both patients, as well as their doctors, are thrilled.

"He's doing beautifully and she is absolutely cured," Salvatierra said.<