University of Pittsburgh alumni and students share a special bond. Those in the same academic program are connected in an even closer circle. But Florida resident, former SHRS Instructor and Physician Assistant Guy Guimond (BS ’01, MS ’05 and ’13) and Madelyn Czekalski (BS ’20), current student in the Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program, are forever joined because of one life-saving gift.
The selfless act of a kidney donation
Two years ago, at the age of 44, Guimond was diagnosed with Stage 2 kidney failure. Although doctors tried to prolong his kidney function with medication, by November 2021, he and his wife Stephanie (BS ’02) realized they needed to start looking for a donor.
“I received an email from SHRS administration on Feb. 9, 2022, stating an alumnus of SHRS was seeking support for a kidney donor,” recalls Czekalski. “I signed myself up because it just felt like the right thing to do. Kidney donors can live normal, healthy lives while dramatically improving someone else’s life.”
Within three months of testing, she was approved as a healthy donor. On July 6, the day before the procedure at a Florida hospital, Czekalski met Guimond and his family for the first time. “It was really emotional,” she says. “I knew immediately I had made the right decision.”
“My experience didn’t interrupt my education in any way,” she continues. “The transplant center and my advisors were so helpful working around my clinical rotation to ensure I could do the donation. And thanks to the restricted COVID schedule, I never had to take any time away from class or clinicals. I felt well enough to return to rotations just two weeks later.”
To say Guimond was grateful is an understatement. He credits Stephanie for reaching out to old friends in
Pittsburgh, especially to members of their former church, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in the North Hills, where Amy Aggelou, director and assistant professor, Athletic Training program, attends.
“Recently an alumni of the AT program donated a kidney to the son of a Pitt employee,” explains Aggelou. “The knowledge of that life-saving gesture provided me with some knowledge of the process—and perhaps the internal push to see if a living donor match could be made for Guy
through SHRS.”
Aggelou drafted the email that was distributed to the SHRS community. “I actually had no idea until after the fact that Maddy saw the request and responded.”
Becoming a living donor is such a wonderful and selfless gift. Although Maddy is still a student in the PAS program, she seems to have already mastered the compassion and selflessness of a health care provider.
Amy Aggelou
Guimond says he is getting stronger every day. He plans to pursue genetic testing to determine if he has passed his condition on to his three children.
For more information on living kidney donation, Czekalski encourages people to check out kidney.org/transplantation.