Community Seeks Kidney Donor for Local Doctor

Over a hundred people showed up on Sunday, July 31, at an event dedicated to saving the life of Dr. Paul Merlis, a local resident of Toco Hills. Merlis is a devoted husband, father of four, grandfather of nine and beloved friend to many. He has dedicated his life to healing, working for over forty years as an emergency physician and saving thousands of lives.

“Over the years, my husband has been my hero, my family’s hero and the hero for thousands of patients,” his wife, Judy, told the audience. “Now he needs a hero.”

Renewal, a charitable organization that provides comprehensive resources for kidney donors and recipients, is assisting Merlis in his search for a matching kidney.

Headquartered in New York, Renewal works with kidney transplant centers throughout the country, helping patients and their families navigate the complex process of kidney transplantation, find proper and suitable dialysis and/or transplant centers, locate a donor, arrange the transplant and much more. They field inquiries from potential donors and do their utmost to help them reach the finish line. They also try to eliminate financial difficulties that arise from the surgery, such as loss of wages, medical testing and travel.

Rabbi Josh Sturm, who represented Renewal at the July 31 event, explained the intricate details involved in becoming a kidney donor and answered frequently asked questions. Members of the community, some of whom didn’t even know the Merlis family personally, showed up to swab and find out if they could help.

The program opened with a message from Rabbi Yechezkel Freundlich, former assistant rabbi of Congregation Beth Jacob, who spoke about his kidney donation three weeks prior to the event.

“The idea to become a donor first took root in my mind several years ago when I heard about some community members who undertook this incredible initiative,” the rabbi began. Due to personal reasons, that was not the right time for him to proceed. Several years later, when Renewal did an event in Freundlich’s Toronto community, he got swabbed. That was in December 2018.

On Jan. 13, 2020, Freundlich experienced the most challenging day of his rabbinic career. A child in his community died suddenly, and the family was reeling with indescribable anguish. After spending hours with the grieving family, the rabbi came home, completely drained. He sat at his table in a daze, and then his phone rang.

“Mazel Tov! This is Renewal. You’re a match! Are you ready to save a life?” a voice said.

At that moment of pain and vulnerability, Freundlich could only respond with a firm, “yes.” A life for a life.

Meeting the recipient and her family was an indescribable experience for the rabbi.

“It brings home that every moment of life is so precious, for every person and every stage of life,” Freundlich said. “The two kidneys I’ve been blessed with are now keeping two people alive.”

It brings home that every moment of life is so precious, for every person and every stage of life.

The program continued with messages from other local donors. Jennifer Green, from the Toco Hills community, donated a kidney to Jonathan Levin, also from Toco Hills, in 2016. Six months later, Green ran a half-marathon. “The recovery takes a few weeks,” she said, “but after that, you’re back to yourself.”

“I’m just an ordinary person,” Green asserted. “But it was the most incredible feeling to save a life. My one regret is that I can’t do it again.”

“Without Jennifer’s assistance,” Levin said, “I wouldn’t be able to do half the things I do now. I went through five months of dialysis, and now, nothing gets in my way. At this point, I want to see my grandchildren get married. Jennifer stepped up to do something I couldn’t do for myself. Every day, when I pray, I say a special prayer for Jennifer.”

“Over the past 17 years,” Rabbi Sturm said, “Renewal has been involved in 850 life-saving transplants. When they started, their goal was to facilitate one transplant that year. Thank G-d, we did two. The next year, we did five, and we kept setting our goals higher. In July, we were involved in 19 transplants!”

When Sturm started working with Renewal, he imagined spending time with the donor’s family and the recipient’s family in the hospital. He thought the recipient’s family would be overjoyed, that their happiness would be the primary focus. To his surprise, he found that the donor’s family is equally humbled and inspired, overcome with awe for their loved one. As the Talmud teaches, “He who saves a single life, saves the entire world.”

When a recipient registers with Renewal, they are given a unique email address. Volunteers can be swabbed as potential matches for Dr. Merlis by emailing RN25541@renewal.org. To become a donor for anyone in need of a kidney, go to www.renewal.org to register.

“I am proud and humbled by our community for stepping up. People swabbed who don’t even know us. And even if you are not a match,” Judy says, “in my heart, I consider it like you saved Paul’s life — because you cared enough to try.”