First Responders Rally To Save Colleague With Alport Syndrome As Officer Donates Kidney Through Paired Network

Ohio Patrol Commander Walks Out After kidney transplant With Colleague’s Living Donation

USA: Ohio State Highway Patrol Bowling Green Post Commander Matt Geer was discharged from the University of Toledo Medical Center this week after receiving a lifesaving kidney transplant from Rossford Police Officer Michael Shaffer, a living donor who volunteered from the first-responder community. Geer, who had gone into kidney failure in November, left the hospital walking beside fellow officers, family and friends amid applause.

Geer’s transplant followed a grassroots search for a match led by Susan Rees of the Alliance for Paired Donation, which began looking after Geer’s story surfaced. Fourteen Ohio first responders volunteered to be tested for a potential donation, underscoring a rare wave of solidarity within the law enforcement community. The transplant team at the University of Toledo performed the living-donor kidney transplantation that restored Geer’s kidney function.

Doctors noted the donor and recipient were unusually compatible — described by the care team as nearly brotherlike in blood match — even though they are not biologically related. Geer has Alport syndrome, a genetic disorder that can lead to early kidney failure and the need for transplantation; his case highlights the narrow gap between the roughly 100,000 people waiting for kidneys in the United States and the roughly 25,000 transplants performed annually.

Shaffer and fellow first responders say the episode has sparked a new mission to promote organ donation among colleagues and the public. The pair hope their story will encourage more living donors and broaden awareness of paired-donation programs that can unlock matches otherwise unavailable.

Video originally published on 2026-03-29 16:03:51