Canfield wife's living donation saved stranger and her husband

CANFIELD

Sharon Nicastro donated one of her kidneys to a stranger in San Diego. In exchange, John, her husband of 48 years, received a kidney from a Columbus woman he’s never met.

“If you feel you can do it, and can live without one kidney, you should do it,” Sharon said. “You can bless two people with your gift.”

It’s called living donation, and the couple learned about it from their daughter, Elyce Nicastro Ervin, a University of Toledo professor.

Last month marked one year since John got his new kidney and Sharon donated one of hers.

“I really feel blessed,” John said. “It’s like I got a new battery put in.”

He was diagnosed in 2006 with chronic kidney disease.

“In 2009, his doctor told us, ‘It’s not a question of if he’ll need dialysis, but when,’” Sharon said.

For years, John suffered from fatigue and chest and shoulder pain, but stress tests never indicated he had a problem. In 2014, Sharon persuaded her husband to undergo a colonoscopy. During that procedure, John’s colon was nicked.

That’s when doctors discovered blockages to his heart. Some of them were 100 percent blocked.

He underwent open-heart surgery and that led to his kidneys shutting down.

He began dialysis.

“I told [Sharon,] ‘I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to do this,’” John said.

Read more of his journey in Friday's Vindicator or on VIndy.com.