Kidney swap: Husbands give the other's wife a chance at life

Kidney swap: Husbands give the other's wife a chance at life

Two couples celebrated an early Thanksgiving in New York City with much to be grateful for. Once strangers, they're now forever connected, after exchanging priceless gifts. They swapped kidneys. Tamira Ferrer's husband, Carlos, gave his kidney to Marta Chiqito. Marta's husband, Moises, gave his kidney to Tamira. Neither spouse was a match for his own wife and their respective hospitals put them on a registry for kidney hopefuls looking for a swap. "There was an opportunity for us to kind of do a kidney swap and we just took it. It was great - just everything just worked out you know... and like wow now I'm here," said Carlos Ferrer who donated a kidney. "They told us the news and I told her to go for it. Let's go for it, because, it was happy, it was a joyful moment for me," said kidney donor Moises Chiqito. Doctors say there are many advantages to having a living donor. The kidney is healthier and will last twice as long improving the chances of success and a full recovery. "To know that there was going to be two people that were going to be able to receive a donation at you a donor, and there was going to be two lives that were going to be changed so I guess it just happened miraculously. That's it," said recipient Marta Chiqito. The kidney swappers met face-to-face and broke bread together with their families at the Montefiore Medical Center.