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Iraq Veteran Donates Kidney to Long-Time Friend Sometimes when Sgt. Brendon Smith called home from Bosnia, Kosovo or Iraq to his friend, Cedric Hill, he would forget the time difference. Those 2 a.m. phone calls were always answered. Later, after Brendon returned home, the late night phone calls continued as the Marine veteran struggled to re-adjust to life at home and feelings of posttraumatic stress.
“He is a great person,” says Brendon of his longtime friend. “There are very few people in this world that you click with. I’m very lucky that I have my wife and I have him. He’s been there for me when I’ve been at the edge. That’s what friends do, help each other.” Cedric, who now enjoys greater freedom in his daily life without dialysis, relates that the organ donation took place as a result of their already strong relationship. “You need that kind of friendship before the transplant,” Cedric says. “We have both been there for each other.” Choosing Donation The two friends met at an acting class while attending County College of Morris. Eventually they became roommates at Rowan University and remained close after graduation, with Cedric performing in the theatre and Brendon joining the Marines. Brendon served in Bosnia and Kosovo, and then, after the terrorist attack on 9/11, was re-activated and sent to Iraq. At the same time, Brendon married and later was sent home to help his wife through her complicated pregnancy. One Christmas, Brendon took his wife, Karen Smith, aside to speak privately during one of Cedric’s visits. Brendon told her that he wanted to give his kidney to Cedric if they were a match. “She said, “If you are not a match, then I will,’” says Brendon. “I have a pretty cool wife.” Brendon then approached Cedric who agreed to the donation if the organs were a match. He was cautious because several family members who had offered kidneys had not been a compatible match for organ donation. It was an amazing coincidence that the strongest match would come not from family, but from a best friend. The families met with The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers team and had all their questions answered. Brendon’s family was reassured to learn that after removal of a kidney, the other organ doubles in size to compensate. The operation was scheduled and later performed by Stuart Geffner, M.D., Chief of Transplant Surgery for The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers. The operation was a success and the kidney worked immediately. “It was like it belonged there,” recalls Brendon. Since the surgery Cedric has found that his stomach problems are gone and he has more time to pursue projects, including the filming of an original screenplay he co-wrote with Brendon. “Acceptable Losses,” which is currently in production in New Jersey, is a tale of three men who recently returned home from combat and the trials they each must face to find out how they fit into society (for more information, visit www.toandfroproductions.com.) These days Brendon, who has retired from the military, enjoys working on the production of their screenplay and sharing a coffee break with his longtime friend, who has been restored to good health. “I believe that God puts us here for a reason and that everyone has a chance to impact someone’s life for the better,” Brendon says. “My friend needed a kidney and I wanted to give him mine. It was the right thing to do.”
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In February 2005, Brendon had the opportunity to help the friend who had supported him through the long journey back from combat. Cedric, who began experiencing kidney failure four years earlier, received a kidney transplant from Brendon at The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.
