(Courtesy of RWJ Barnabas) The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division at Saint Barnabas Medical Center has opened a satellite in River Edge to bring residents of Bergen and Passaic Counties convenient access to the fifth largest living donor institute in the United States and largest kidney program in the Northeast.
In August 2019, husband and wife Arthur Williams and Shameena Layne had no clue what was coming when Arthur, 64, went in for a routine colonoscopy. A few days after the procedure, Arthur’s doctor called because his tests showed a high creatinine level, meaning his kidneys were in trouble. Arthur was referred to the Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, where he found out that he had end-stage renal failure and needed a kidney transplant.
In search of a living donor, Shameena got tested and was a match! Worried about the risks of undergoing a major surgery, Shameena said, “I was scared, but at the end of the day, the emotions most predominant were love and happiness.”
Arthur found her courage humbling. “When she stepped up, it was an honor, to say the least,” he said. “I am so grateful for her kindness, her love, her friendship and for being the mother of my children.”
Under the care of Saint Barnabas Medical Center’s renal and pancreas transplant team, Arthur and Shameena’s surgeries were a success. “I can’t tell that a kidney was taken,” Shameena noted. “I don’t feel a void.”
Instead, the two literally feel a part of each other. The transplanted kidney “ties me to him and him to me,” Shameena said. Arthur joked that now they have to separate because they are so close that they are related.
To further assist those in need of a kidney transplant, the new satellite location in River Edge, New Jersey, is located at 10 Elizabeth Street next to the New Bridge Landing Railway Station. Individuals throughout northern New Jersey and in Rockland and Westchester Counties in New York can receive the identical education and evaluation program available at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Individuals may complete the entire pre-transplant process in River Edge without having to travel to Saint Barnabas Medical Center until the day of transplant surgery.
The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston is one of the largest kidney transplant programs in the country performing more than 300 transplant surgeries each year. The Transplant Division’s Living Donor Institute is New Jersey’s first program of its kind and one of the most progressive living donor kidney programs, specializing in an increasing number of innovative living donor techniques available at only a few of the world’s leading transplant centers. Our nationally respected transplant team offers an increasing number of transplant alternatives for chronic kidney disease, bringing hope to anyone with kidney failure.
For further information or to schedule an appointment, please call the Transplant Division at 973-322-5938 or toll-free at 888-409-4707, or visit www.transplantkidney.org.
