“There is nothing to be afraid of – it’s done so often with so much success. I sometimes forget that I did this. The reward incredibly outweighs the risk. You will have a lifetime of feeling good about yourself because you saved someone’s life. Nothing compares to that.”
Casual Conversation Before Volleyball Game Convinces Son to Make Lifesaving Kidney Donation to Mother at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
A competitive athlete in many sports, Chris Pisano was warming up before a beach volleyball game when another player overheard him talking about potentially donating a kidney to his mother, Ellen.
“One of the guys I play with said that he donated a kidney to his dad 15 years ago,” Chris recalls. “He said that he would do it again in a heartbeat. That’s all I needed to hear. Here is a guy who is 15 years older than me and he was fine. In fact, he could still kick my butt during a game. I am thinking, if he’s out there playing beach volleyball at a high level and his life is no different…”
Fully committed after that encounter, Chris gave his mother the ultimate gift of life at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) when he donated one of his kidneys to her on April 15, 2025. His procedure was performed by Ronald Pelletier, MD, the Surgical Director of RWJUH’s Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program and his mom’s surgery by Advaith Bongu, MD, Transplant Surgeon with RWJUH’s Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program.
That day marked the end of a long and difficult journey during which Ellen was diagnosed with multiple myeloma that attacked her kidneys causing them to fail. She underwent almost five years of grueling cancer and dialysis treatments before the transplant could take place.
Before she became ill, Ellen was looking forward to enjoying retirement following a long career as a physical education teacher and tennis coach at JP Stevens High School in Edison. She was retired less than a year when her health took a sudden turn for the worse in 2021.
“I just wasn’t feeling well,” Ellen recalls. “I would get headaches; my heart was pounding and I had little or no appetite.”
During a routine physical in February 2021, doctors found that Ellen’s creatinine level was slightly elevated. Her doctor thought it may be due to dehydration or because she had fasted before her blood work. He wanted to see her again in three months to re-check her levels.
While on vacation in North Carolina in late June of that year, Ellen experienced severe shortness of breath while trying to complete routine activities such as bicycling or simply walking up and down a flight of stairs. What little appetite she had for food was gone. Ellen saw her doctor immediately after returning from North Carolina for a follow-up exam and more blood work. The results were alarming.
“My doctor called me at home and told me to go to the Emergency Department immediately,” Ellen recalls.
Ellen’s creatinine levels were dangerously high and her kidneys were shutting down. She was placed on dialysis, but her journey became more challenging after further lab tests revealed multiple myeloma.
Before Ellen could be listed for a transplant, doctors had to treat the multiple myeloma. She underwent an autologous stem cell transplant at Rutgers Cancer Institute in July and November 2021, which was successful. She became eligible for transplant after achieving remission from her cancer for one year. Based on her research, Ellen knew that finding a matching donor kidney could take a long time, but her family stepped forward to explore living donation.
“My niece volunteered, but she was not a match,” Ellen explains. “My daughter wanted to do it, but she was just married and wanted to start a family – I wouldn’t allow her.”
Chris was undergoing tests himself to see if he was a match. He was confident because he always shared a close bond with his mother.
“We’re too similar and very close,” says Chris, who is an educator like his mom. “We’re both Type A personalities who are competitive athletes – I knew deep down that I would be a match.”
Ellen still remembers the day she learned her son was a match.
“Chris FaceTimed me when he learned he was a match – it was so exciting!” Ellen says.
Following the transplant, Ellen returned home after 4 days at RWJUH. Chris was discharged after only 2 ½ days.
During the first three months of her recovery, Ellen followed a strict, daily regimen of anti-rejection medications. She was also immunocompromised and had to be extremely careful about exposing herself to viruses, infections and germs, which meant preparing all of her meals at home. She celebrated the end of this period with a simple pleasure.
“I was able to get a pizza!” she recalls.
Ellen’s myeloma remains in remission and she has had no issues with her new kidney.
“I have more energy than I did, but I am trying to re-gain the stamina that I had in the past,” she explains. “I try to walk 45 minutes each day and do exercises at home. It has been only two to three months so I have to be patient.”
Ellen and her son were always close, as she is with her other two children. Still, she is in awe of the life-saving gift he made.
“I didn’t expect this, but Chris is a great kid. Once he decides to do something, he wants to do it all,” Ellen says.
Chris gets emotional when he describes what it means to help his mother enjoy life again, which includes well-deserved vacations and visits with her granddaughter.
“I remember picking her up from her last dialysis session knowing that was the last time she had to be there and I was the reason why. That was the most powerful thing,” Chris recalls. “When my mom got home, I remember having tears of joy – because I felt proud to be able to make her free again.”
Ellen’s advice to others who are considering or may consider living donation is simple.
“Do your research to decide if it’s right for you,” she says. “There’s no better gift than donating a kidney and the risks are minimal. I think Chris is very proud about what he did and he should be.”
Chris adds, “There is nothing to be afraid of – it’s done so often with so much success. I sometimes forget that I did this. The reward incredibly outweighs the risk. You will have a lifetime of feeling good about yourself because you saved someone’s life. Nothing compares to that.”
Learn more about the RWJUH Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Center.