(Photo Credits: Cornell University)

ITHACA, N.Y. (WENY) — Some people wait for years on a transplant list, hoping that a donor match will come their way. One professor at Cornell University stepped up to give his colleague the gift of a lifetime.

In 2003, doctors told Ron Ehrenberg, Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics at Cornell University, his kidneys weren't functioning properly and they only got worse over time.

"By 2016, it was also was sufficiently bad that after I taught, I had difficulty walking back to my office and I would have to sit in my office for half an hour and wait before I had the strength and energy to drive home," Ehrenberg said.

That same year, he signed a phased retirement agreement to focus more time on his health.

In 2019, Ron was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease. He would spend the next five years waiting for a kidney, an amount of time that would cause almost anyone to start to lose hope.

"All of the people who tested were disqualified, either because they were the wrong blood type or their kidney function was not high enough or they had some disease, which if they were a donor, would be transmitted to me," Ehrenberg said.

Without functioning kidneys, Ron had no choice but to dedicate most of his time to treatment. Ron's treatment didn't involve blood transfusions and could be done at home. However, the process wasn't easy.

"It takes about 9 hours, but when you add in the prep time and all the visits to the clinic to get injections, I'm spending about 11 hours a night doing that," Ehrenberg said.

When he was going through dialysis, his colleague was keeping a secret.

"It turns out that we matched and it was like, oh, gosh, ok!" said Adam Seth Litwin, Associate Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell’s ILR School.

Adam spoke with Ron several times at work about his search for a new kidney. 

"About two years ago I decided to get tested because I was thinking 'oh, I don't know that there's a very high probability that we'll match. I'll get tested and I'll let Ron know that I did my best," Litwin said.

Donating a kidney meant Adam would have to make some adjustments to his life, but he felt it was important to help save his friends.

"I just thought it was the right thing to do and it seemed like something I could do."

It wasn't as simple as setting a surgery date and handing his kidney over to Ron. Adam had to undergo a number of tests.

"They took more blood and they collected my urine for, I think, 24 hours straight. I had to collect it all and then deliver it to them," Litwin said.

The tests didn't stop there.

"I made my first visit to Strong Memorial and they took more blood, they had me meet with three or four specialists. I had an entire body scan. From there, they just had a long list of issues they wanted to follow up on and make sure were not problematic."

Eventually, Adam was cleared. The hospital told Ron they found a live donor.

"We had been informed about a week earlier that a live donor had emerged and they were scheduling for June. When that happened my wife and I broke out in tears." 

Ron wanted to find a way to thank his potential donor.

"I went back to my nurse and asked her to get me some information about the donor. The way the donation process works is the nurses who are in charge of the donor are completely separate from the nurses who are going to work with the potential recipient. So, she didn't have any information," Ehrenberg said.

Adam had to find a way to tell Ron it was him, ultimately deciding to send an email.

"And when Adam wrote to me, we broke out into tears a second time," Ehrenberg said.

With a kidney that's nearly 30 years younger than him, Ron doesn't have to commit all of his time to doctor's appointments and treatment.

"I am so deeply indebted to Adam that I will spend the rest of my life trying to pay him back," Ehrenberg said.

Ron and Adam are on the road to recovery and they hope their story will inspire others. 

More information on how to become a donor can be found here.