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Melissa Deighan saw perhaps five seconds of the video made last year by two young children pleading for a new kidney for their mother and knew she had to help.
In the video, Diana Zippay's children, Tobias and Bailey, held up a homemade sign with message : "Please help us spread the word. Our mommy needs a kidney!"
Their simple words captured the attention of Deighan.
"I could not stand the thought of a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old to be without their mother," said Deighan, 47, of Baldwin.
She immediately got on the phone and called the Center for Organ Recovery & Education and offered to donate a kidney.
Unfortunately, Zippay and Deighan had different blood types, making direct donation impossible. Instead, Deighan was able to donate her kidney through a national kidney exchange pair program by the United Network for Organ Sharing. That donation freed up a kidney for Zippay.
Deighan's generous gift allowed Zippay to move up the transplant list. Her kidney went to a man she matched in Monongahela, while Zippay, 36, also of Monongahela, received a kidney from a match in Philadelphia.
Deighan and Zippay shared their story in Pittsburgh on Monday at Allegheny General Hospital's annual rose garden ceremony that recognizes organ donors and recipients. They now consider each other family. The children, Bailey, 9, and Tobias, 5, were at school and did not attend.
Zippay, a former nurse at Monongahela Valley Hospital, suffers from Alport disease, a genetic disorder that attacks the kidneys and forced her to go on dialysis three days a week for a total of 20 hours. Alport sufferers have progressive kidney disease and are hard of hearing.
"I live a very simple life," said Zippay, who received her transplant July 25 and calls her new kidney "Sidney," after Pittsburgh Penguins' star Sidney Crosby.
Deighan said her sister donated a kidney in 2013, so she had an idea of what to expect in terms of pain and recovery time. She also credited social media with helping spread the word about people in need.
"It can reach millions," said Deighan, who was back at her desk in human resources at Hub Parking Technology two weeks after her surgery.
Zippay said she is not yet back to work because she was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr, the virus that causes mononucleosis, and two clotting disorders.
Nationwide, more than 115,000 people are on waiting lists for organs, CORE officials said. At Allegheny General, 216 living transplants have been performed. The hospital also performs 100 kidney transplants a year.
Suzanne Elliott is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at selliott@tribweb.com, 412-871-2346 or via Twitter @41Suzanne.