‘Paired’ kidney donation gives Beech Grove officer priority on transplant list

INDIANAPOLIS — June 6 is World Transplant Day. 

A Beech Grove Police Department detective is alive and well today thanks to the selfless act of giving by a Community Health Network nurse.

Matt Smith investigates crimes. In the past few years, a genetic kidney disease was robbing Matt of his quality of life. He was always cold, with itchy skin, his legs swollen from retaining fluids. He slept poorly and felt lethargic from the toxins in his body.

In the months before his kidney transplant, Matt’s health seriously declined. His life was dominated by dialysis treatments. He only had the energy to work about two days a week as a Beech Grove police detective.

“Jessica comes into the picture and becomes our family’s angel,” Matt said.

Jessica Kegeris works with Matt’s wife, Sandy. They are friends and nurses at Community Health Network. Jessica decided to donate her kidney for Matt.

“If you have two good kidneys that pass all the testing, you’re going to be perfectly fine with one of them,” Jessica said. “You have a superpower to be able to share a kidney with somebody else.”

RELATED: Muncie woman needed a kidney transplant; her husband was the ‘perfect match’

But Jessica was not a match for Matt. She donated her kidney through what is called a “paired donation.” Her donation on Matt’s behalf gave him priority to receive a transplant.

“It’s called a ‘voucher,’” Matt said. “But I called it the ‘Golden Ticket,’ like in Willy Wonka, or kind of like Disney World, I got the Fast Pass.”

Jessica donated her kidney last July, which went to someone in Illinois. Three months later, Matt received a kidney from a woman in a different family in Illinois.

“Jessica started this chain, and it just continues to affect other people,” Sandy said. “It’s like a ripple effect, just continues to get bigger and bigger, and all the lives that are changed and saved by one act. It’s incredible.”

“It definitely restores your faith in humanity,” Matt said. “There’s a lot of amazing people out there that do selfless acts, and Jessica is one of those persons.”

Matt was on the waiting list for a deceased kidney donor. Several of his family members were tested, but they were not medically cleared to donate their kidney. The paired donation program offers another avenue of hope for people in need of a transplant.

Matt’s new kidney is working great, and he has returned to an active lifestyle.