Miami Lakes resident shares his story of deep brotherly love

Siblings don’t always like to share, but when Rey Mendoza needed a new kidney, his brother, Christopher, decided to part with one of his own.

“My brother saw how severe the situation had gotten,” Rey, who lives in Miami Lakes, said. “And that’s when he was like, ‘No, I have to do something.’ “

Rey Mendoza was 21 when he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. By his early 30s, the condition had progressed to renal failure. He recalled the moment the severity hit him.

“I was leaving school one day, and I was driving home, and I remember I got this really, really sharp pain in my abdomen to the point I couldn’t drive,” he explained.

Dr. Neerja Agrawal, with Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital, said it is rare for kidney-dialysis patients to be so young.

“In general, patients like Rey or someone below 30 years old are not the most common patients who undergo a kidney transplant,“ Agrawal said.

After several family members checked for compatibility, Christopher, who is in the Air Force serving overseas, was found to be the best match.

The brothers underwent surgery and were “up and moving” within days. Agrawal explained that recovery is faster with a living donor because the kidney goes directly from the donor to the recipient.

For Rey, the change was instant.

“I immediately felt like I had seen life through new eyes,” Rey said. “This monster that had been haunting me for two-and-a-half years, it just went away overnight. I didn’t have to do dialysis anymore.”

Rey now competes in the Transplant Games of America, a national event that is held every two years and celebrates organ, eye and tissue donations. He has won several medals.

“There’s something beautiful that came out of everything that I had to go through,” he said. “Just being able to prove that I’m not a victim of this disease.”

While some donors choose to donate specifically to family members, others are known as altruistic donors because they donate to anyone who needs help.

To learn how to register to be an organ donor, visit Donate Life’s page for National Donate Life Month.

This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.