Man in Desperate Need of Kidney Transplant Discovers His Wife Is a Perfect Donor Match

A man in desperate need of a kidney transplant discovered his own wife was the perfect donor match for him.

The couple Giovanni and Lisa Ricci found their lives turned upside down when Giovanni was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

Giovanni's condition worsened drastically over time, to the point where doctors said he needed to have a kidney transplant to save his life.

Fortunately for Giovanni, his perfect donor match had been right in front of him all along: His wife, Lisa.

“It was an incredible feeling knowing I was a match for him and a relief at the same time,” Lisa told People.

“He was on the verge of needing dialysis, and it was something we wanted to avoid, so when the confirmation came that I was a match, it came just in the nick of time,” she added.

On August 3, the pair successfully underwent the transplant procedure at Rhode Island Hospital, just three days before celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary together on August 6.

Prior to the transplant, the couple had been worried about how dialysis would impact their family and busy lifestyle, as Lisa explained.

“We are a travel lacrosse family — both our daughters are goalies — and Gio is there for them every step of the way and their biggest cheerleader and coach,” she said.

“So for him to miss those important games because he would be tied to a dialysis machine three times a week would have been devastating to him,” Lisa continued to explain.

But as the transplant went successfully and the duo recovered together, Giovanni and Lisa decided to renew their vows, with the help of the hospital staff in arranging the details.

Expressing his gratitude toward his wife for the gift she has given him, Giovanni said, “I feel tremendously blessed that I get a second chance at life and I get to spend it with the person who gave me that opportunity.”

“Who can ask for anything more? I literally will always carry a piece of her in me — which is funny because that’s what she said to me when we were waking up together in the recovery area,” he continued.

Turns out, the couple had even previously decided to celebrate their anniversary by taking a trip to Florida with their daughters. But the transplant surgery came up, and that trip had to be postponed.

“But I knew I still had to do something to show my love and appreciation [to Lisa], so I asked the hospital for their help in coordinating the special day,” Giovanni said about renewing his vows with her in the hospital.

The couple also emphasized that the transplant experience has brought them closer together and given deeper meaning to the vows, which they originally said at their wedding back in 2006.

“Of course, when we stood at that altar 20 years ago, the thought of one of us becoming seriously ill was the furthest thing from our minds,” Giovanni said. “You’re young and in love, building a family and navigating the everyday ups and downs of life. You never imagine that, in an instant, everything can change so drastically.”

“When we promise to stand by each other ‘in sickness and in health,’ I think we often imagine what that might mean as we grow older and age together,” Lisa added.

“I never imagined we would face something like this at this stage of our lives, but it has reminded me that those vows aren’t just words spoken on your wedding day. They’re a promise to love, support, and stand beside each other through whatever life brings, no matter when it happens,” she continued.