Customer Suzanne Deegan Donates kidney To Glen Cove Restaurant Manager David Gelashvili
USA: A longtime customer at Glen Cove’s La Bussola, Suzanne Deegan stepped forward last year after learning restaurant manager David Gelashvili was battling kidney disease and urgently needed a transplant. What began as a family meal became the start of a rapid matching process: Deegan volunteered for testing and was identified as a compatible living donor within weeks.
Gelashvili had endured 14 months on dialysis while waiting for a transplant. He and Deegan both said he weighed the personal risks and ultimately accepted the gift, underscoring the human dimensions that accompany decisions about living donation and transplantation.
Surgeons at North Shore University Hospital performed the kidney transplant, and clinicians reported the donated kidney began functioning immediately, allowing Gelashvili to come off dialysis. Medical teams noted that living donor transplants frequently enable quicker recoveries and more rapid restoration of kidney function than some other pathways.
About six weeks after surgery, both donor and recipient are recovering well, and staff describe their progress as encouraging. The case highlights how community ties and living donation can transform everyday relationships into life-saving medical interventions in transplant care.
Video originally published on 2026-04-25 11:55:12
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