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    10 strangers come together for a life-changing kidney swap

    With all its complexities, a chain of this size is hard to pull off. This one was postponed three times. But with many waiting for a kidney, it's a critical opportunity to save some lives.
    by Scott Simon Mar 19, 2022 5 minutes
    A kidney donor Michael Wingard is being prepared by medical professionals for kidney extraction surgery in an operation room in Houston Methodist Hospital on March 1, 2022 in Houston, Texas.

    HOUSTON – Michael Wingard arrives at Houston Methodist Hospital with a cheerful "Howdy!" He's a rangy young man with a scrub-brush of a beard, and a healthy left kidney that's where it's always been - safely tucked up just below his rib cage.

    In a couple of hours a surgeon will remove the kidney and sew it into someone else's body.

    This also happens to be the day before his 20th birthday.

    "I'm barely even thinking about that," Michael tells NPR. "No cake, unfortunately. It'll be like Jell-O or something like that."

    The Wingard family is from Kerrville, Texas, about four hours west of Houston. Michael's parents, Adrien and Ed, are with him, and they tear up as Michael is checked in.

    "I'm very, very nervous and scared and all those emotions, but I'm so proud of him," Adrien Wingard says. "He knew that his friend needed a kidney and he had to do whatever it took

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