Friend gives kidney to pal

Sooner or later, almost everyone wonders what ever happened to their best grade school pal. Nowadays, kids go to websites like Facebook.com to look for them. Usually this results in an exchange of notes.
Queens resident Ricardo Manier got a lot more from his boyhood pal Karl Celestin. He got a kidney… and a new lease on life.
Last year, Celestin, a pre-med student at American Union School of Medicine in the Dominican Republic, went to Facebook to find Manier, who he hadn’t seen since he left grade school in 2000.
That’s when he got to use his education - to decipher the name of the rare, often fatal condition Manier has - focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS.)
Glomerules [glomerulae] are the little pods inside the kidneys that actually filter out wastes, and Manier’s were failing. The cause of FSGS is still not understood, but Celestin understood that his friend needed a kidney transplant to save his life.
The boys met in the fourth grade at the Holy Family School on 175th Street in Fresh Meadows, and rapidly became fast friends, both in school and in Boy Scout Troop 55, which meets there. “They were practically inseparable,” recalled Sister Matthew Mary, a nun at the school.
Celestin offered to donate a kidney to save his pal. After a battery of tests and despite very long odds, they were found to be a match, and he returned to New York for the surgery.
On Sunday, February 24, the young men and their families met with State Senator Toby Stavisky, City Councilmember James Gennaro, school officials and others, to honor the gutsy good friend - and for a blood drive.
Gennaro quoted Walt Whitman, who said “when I give, I give of myself,” as he presented Celestin with a certificate from the council, adding, “You give that idea new meaning.”
Stavisky also praised the youth, saying, “Karl gives new meaning to the phrase ‘the gift of life.’” She expressed hope that the “selfless act of friendship” would encourage more people to sign up to be organ donors, and reduce waiting lists which can run as long as 10 years, leaving many to die waiting for an organ donor.
Celestin thanked everyone, especially his friend and savior, never mentioning that he had resolved to rejoin his childhood friend at medical school. He hopes to be a nephrologist - a kidney specialist - his best chance to repay his cosmic debt.
The mothers of both young men also thanked everyone, especially the 24 who came to give blood, a substantial quantity of which was needed for the surgery. Another six volunteers had to be turned away, as too young, too lightweight or for medical reasons.
Celestin’s mother, Karline Mass/, put on a brave face as she said how proud she was of her son, though her voice cracked with emotion - betraying a mother’s fear for a son at risk.
Then, Mass/ regained her composure, and to add even more poignancy to a series of events which could surely be a movie script, put on her scrubs and proceeded to collect blood donations.
Mass/ has been working with the New York Blood Center for about three years, attending to donors at blood drives around the Metro area. Before that, she was with the aphaeresis unit at Winthrop Hospital, which draws off needed blood components like plasma and platelets from donors.
“I am so proud of my son,” she said, as she expertly tapped the veins of good neighbors, a Senator and this reporter, adding, “I was afraid for a while, but I have faith.”
Sometimes, faith is rewarded.
On Tuesday, February 26, surgeons successfully transplanted the organ in surgeries which lasted about nine hours.
“Karl went in about 3 a.m. and Ricky (Manier) at 4 a.m.” a tired-sounding Mass/ told The Queens Courier via cell phone, at about 1:30 p.m. “He wants to see Ricky, but we have to wait until 2 p.m. because he’s still out of it,” she said.
“After that, we can all get some sleep. It’s been a very long day for all of us.”