A man in New Jersey needed a kidney transplant. A man in Colorado answered the call. But for more than three years after the transplant surgery, they never met — until this week, when Ed Silberman flew to Denver and shared an emotional face-to-face conversation with Dave Heal about their experience as an organ donor and recipient.
“It’s very strange to think of one of your organs living inside of another person,” Heal said. “It’s kind of a miracle to actually meet the person who you’ve been able to get back to living the life that they were meant to live.”
Adam Hillberry, Denver7It all started back in 2019 with a social media post. Silberman, an avid softball player with otherwise good health, learned his kidney functions were deteriorating and he would need to use peritoneal dialysis until he could get a transplant. His son-in-law, Jeremy Garson, tweeted at a sports blog seeking a donor.