A reunion between two friends at Ƶ at Ashtabula resulted in a life-saving kidney transplant.
recounted the story between two childhood acquaintances who met again by chance at Ƶ Ƶ in 2019.
After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease her sophomore year of high school, Alison Rees spent three years on the waiting list for a new kidney. What she never expected was for her childhood friend, Jacob Bliel, to be a perfect donor match.
The pair met in seventh grade, but reacquainted as students at the Ashtabula Campus. When Bliel learned of Rees’ need for a kidney, he secretly underwent testing to see if he could be her donor.
“I was asking her questions as I was getting tested, so I didn't want to make it too obvious,” Bliel told WEWS News 5 Cleveland. “She would always say she never wanted her friends to do it because when she didn’t want us to feel guilted into doing it.”
When Bliel surprised Rees with a scheduled kidney transplant procedure for Christmas, Rees burst into tears, she told WEWS News 5 Cleveland.
“There's nothing that I can ever do or say that will repay him for what he's done for me,” Rees said.
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