TRANSPLANTING HOPE

THE ULTIMATE ACT OF BROTHERHOOD

by Rachel Greene

When Brian Rivers joined the Zeta Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at SUNY Cortland in the spring of 1991, he had no idea that one day, that decision would save his life.

After graduating in 1995, Rivers was in great shape and was, by all accounts, living a normal life. Somewhere in the back of his mind, though, was a looming fear of the genetic kidney disease that resulted in his dad and sister needing kidney transplants. Even with that thought in the back of his mind, Rivers recalls feeling “invincible” and was sure he would not be subject to the same fate. As he would soon come to realize, feeling invincible and being invincible are two very different things.

In 2023, Rivers found himself on the receiving end of bad news - his kidney function had dropped to 75 percent. That once looming fear had finally become his reality. He figured that his situation wasn’t that serious yet, looking at his kidney function as a glass threefourths full, not one-fourth empty, and kept living life as if nothing had changed. Over the next few months, he was preoccupied with the many tasks that came with moving across the country from California to Florida and let his normal doctor appointments fall to the back burner. When he had settled into his new home and finally made it to a doctor’s appointment, his bloodwork showed that his kidney function had decreased rapidly, down to just 15 percent. The percentage of function when it is recommended to join the transplant list? Twenty percent. It became abundantly clear to him then that this was no longer a problem he could ignore.

With a ticking time bomb inside of him in the shape of a failing organ, and an average wait time of six to 10 years for a kidney transplant, Rivers quickly realized that if he wanted to survive this, he needed to take matters into his own hands, and fast. Swallowing his pride and sacrificing his privacy, he turned to those closest to him for help. No one in his family or immediate close circle was able to donate for health reasons, so he turned to the only other option that came to mind: Facebook. From his home in Florida, he drafted his plea, pressed “post” and anxiously awaited a response.

On the other side of the country in Long Island, New York, David Varacchi, Zeta Omicron (SUNY-Cortland), decided to check his Facebook feed, something he very rarely does, but felt inclined to do that day. When Varacchi was a college student, he felt an immediate connection to the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi, as they were the fraternity on campus that touched all social circles and seemed to get along with everyone, just like he had always done. If that wasn’t enough, he was sold on joining when he saw the chapter’s efforts with PUSH (now The Ability Experience). “It wasn’t like they had an obligation to complete service hours like other groups on campus,” he said. “The chapter intentionally planned amazing events that brought the campus community together and really made a difference.” As he scrolled through his feed, catching up on the happenings in his friends’ and family’s lives, a post from his old friend and fraternity brother caught his attention. As he read River’s post, in which he shared his diagnosis of kidney failure and a plea for a donor, Varacchi was shocked that anyone, much less a fellow Pi Kapp, would have to appeal to the masses in this way. Immediately, and almost instinctively, he picked up the phone. As he talked to Rivers, he learned the disappointing news that his close friends and family had been tested but were not in good enough health to donate. Varrachi was in perfect health so he knew that would be a non-issue, but his hopes of helping were dashed when he asked Rivers what his blood type was and he replied, “A.” Varacchi is type B, so he apologized and figured that was going to be the end of the conversation. To his surprise, Rivers explained why that would be a non-issue, opening Varacchi’s eyes to the National Kidney Registry’s Paired Exchange Kidney Donation Program for the first time.

According to the National Kidney Registry website, “In kidney paired exchange, you have a donor willing to donate a kidney on your behalf, but you are incompatible with the donor or want to try to find a better match. With kidney paired exchange, your donor will donate their kidney to another recipient in exchange for a compatible kidney for you.” Let’s say the other pair in the exchange with Varacchi and Rivers are named Donor Dan and Recipient Ray. Varacchi and Recipient Ray both have type B blood. Rivers and Donor Dan both have type A blood. Varacchi will donate his kidney, which will be given to Recipient Ray. Around the same time, Donor Dan will donate his kidney, which will be given to Rivers. By finding a donor to donate a kidney to someone else in the program, each recipient has secured a matching kidney for themself.

Once he learned about the program, Varacchi was all in. While some people may hesitate at a decision like this, he couldn’t imagine not doing it. With his family’s support, he filled out the initial paperwork and received a call from a volunteer named Elaine Perlman the next day. “Elaine’s a donor herself, who donated just to help a stranger. She was motivated by her 20-yearold son, who also donated his kidney to a stranger,” said Varacchi. “She called me and shared her experience, which made it very easy for me to agree to move forward with this decision. If they could donate to strangers just for the sake of helping someone, why would I not donate to a brother?”

“It’s a privilege to be healthy and have the opportunity to help another person in this way, especially when you are helping someone you care about,” said Varacchi. After an initial blood screening, he was required to go to the hospital for a day of comprehensive, full-body tests, often referred to as “the million-dollar test.” While all the tests he underwent may have realistically cost him one million dollars if he were to pay out of pocket, the National Kidney Registry covers all costs associated with the testing, including travel, meals and lodging. To Varacchi, this test was not a barrier, but rather an incentive for donating, as it validated his belief that he was in good health, while also checking for any indicators of health issues that may arise in the future. “It’s worth mentioning that I’ve never felt like more of a VIP than I did on my testing day,” said Varacchi. “The hospital staff was so supportive, and they expressed so much gratitude to me for being willing to donate. They made this experience such a great one, so don’t let the idea of all this testing scare you off.” With his clean bill of health in tow, Varacchi was officially cleared to donate, and the search began for a pair in the program to exchange with.

After being cleared in December 2023, Varacchi’s surgery was scheduled for February 20, 2024, and Rivers’s was scheduled for May 16, 2024. The procedure for Varacchi was much simpler than he was expecting. While most of these surgeries used to be done with an open incision technique, since 1999, many have used a

less invasive method: laparoscopic surgery, called laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. By making four half-inch incisions, the surgeon can insert a small camera to view the kidney, then disconnect it and remove it through a larger incision, which is a three-and-a-half-inch incision on the lower abdomen.

This newer, more advanced procedure cuts down on procedure time, scarring, pain and recovery time. “This procedure was so easy,” said Varacchi. “I personally was out of the hospital the next day, and only needed to take my pain medication for one week. My scars are barely visible, and they’re tiny. I am back to my normal, pre-surgery health and routine now, and there has been almost no change to my lifestyle at all. I can still eat all the meals I was eating before, and I can still drink alcohol, despite the myth that you cannot drink after donating. I am a big wine guy, so I won’t lie that I was relieved to hear that before the procedure, but I would’ve been willing to give up wine in a heartbeat if it meant saving my brother.”

By the time Rivers received his kidney in May, Varacchi was back to his normal life completely. One difference in his life now though, he noted, is his strengthened relationship with Rivers, as

well as other brothers who have been reconnected through this experience. “Brian and I have always been friends, but this has brought us much closer, and it has also brought our two friend groups from our fraternity days back together, which has been great to see.” In addition to reuniting brothers who had lost touch in the years since they graduated, Varacchi has found himself being welcomed into the Rivers family as if he were one of their own. “Throughout this whole process, his family wanted to meet me and talk to me, but they were so respectful and didn’t do that until after the procedure, making sure to get Brian’s permission and checking that it was okay to reach out,” said Varacchi.

“I really appreciated their consideration. After we finally made contact, they were so supportive of me and grateful to me for the gift I had given their family by donating. They made this a lovely experience all around, and I can’t wait to meet them all in person and get to know them more.” Just like his family, Varacchi notes that Rivers was incredibly respectful throughout this entire process, and was always reminding him that he didn’t have to go through with this if he changed his mind. The thought of not going through with the procedure never crossed Varacchi’s mind, and he said he will never regret this decision. “No one’s going to do this and think to themselves in 20 years, ‘Man, I wish I hadn’t donated my kidney’, but people are going to get past the age of donation and wish they had. I wish more people who haven’t considered donating would ask themselves, why are you going to die with two healthy kidneys in your body when you only need one?” While Varacchi didn’t know much about kidney donation before volunteering to give his own, he has since learned that a kidney from a living donor tends to last 20 to 25 years, while a kidney from a deceased donor often only lasts eight to 10 years.

While Rivers’s story had a happy ending, Varacchi isn’t satisfied knowing that there are others out there who are in dire need of a transplant but are not fortunate enough to have a network of brothers like those in Pi Kappa Phi. “Brian is so lucky to have Pi Kappa Phi. With a network like this, he knew he could ask for help, even though sharing something so vulnerable was daunting. Some people would avoid posting something like this due to fear of embarrassment, even at the cost of their own health,” said Varacchi. “In all reality, though, Pi Kapps would’ve never let that happen. His brothers would’ve taken charge and made

sure they found him help, that’s just what we do for each other. In college, whenever anyone needed something, whether it was a ride home for the holidays or just to class, everyone was always willing to help each other. I can’t think of a time when anyone in our chapter was left in a lurch. While this situation is a bit more serious, at its core - it’s no different.”

For those without a network like Pi Kappa Phi, or who are not able to reach out in the way Rivers did, Varacchi wants to continue raising awareness and sharing his story as a donor. According to the National Kidney Foundation, of the 123,000 Americans on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant, 101,000 are waiting for a kidney, but only 17,000 of those individuals receive one each year. Every single day, 12 people die waiting for a lifesaving kidney transplant, people just like Rivers. To be eligible to donate a kidney, the minimum age is 18-25, depending on the transplant center. While there is no technical maximum age of eligibility, kidneys are only accepted from donors over the age of 60 on a case-by-case basis. Currently, Perlman, the volunteer Varacchi spoke with before confirming he would donate, is working alongside her state representatives to pass the “End Kidney Deaths Act,” a bill seeking to modify the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) to encourage living donors to donate a kidney by offering refundable tax credits of $10,000 a year to donors for five years, for a cumulative $50,000 in credit. While he is hoping those tax incentives will speed up the average time people spend on the waiting list if the bill is passed, Varacchi hopes those within the age range of viable donation will consider becoming a donor out of the goodness of their heart, and hopes his story is living proof to them that there’s nothing to be afraid of. “Pi Kappa Phi is such a large organization filled with men who are truly servant leaders in all that they do,” said Varacchi. “If our brotherhood can rally behind this cause the way I believe we can, imagine the lives we could change. Imagine the lives that Pi Kappa Phi could save if a few brothers took the time to learn how simple and convenient this process has become.”

To learn more about becoming a living kidney donor, visit kidneyregistry.com. To get involved with the “End Kidney Deaths Act,” visit modifyNOTA.org.