Wife from Florida Donates a Kidney to Her Husband's Ex-wife Just Days after Their Wedding

Debby Neal-Strickland, a 56-year-old from Fort Lauderdale Florida, donated one of her kidneys to her new husband's ex-wife just a couple of days after their wedding.

While being divorced almost two decades ago, Jim Merthe and Mylaen stayed friendly. This friendliness kept its steady course even after Jim fell in love with and started dating Debby. The two ladies were on good terms but never very close.

Meanwhile, Mylaen started suffering from kidney problems. In 2020 her situation was so severe that her eyes had black rings around them and she had no energy to go to work. When admitted to a hospital around November, she had 8% kidney function.

NEW WIFE HELPS EX

Mylaen's brother offered to be a donor but he was not a match. It was around this time that Debby decided to volunteer. She was confirmed to be a match and also learned that Mylaen was going to be a grandmother. She commented:

"I imagined Mylaen's daughter giving birth, and her mom not being there. I just couldn’t not try to change that. God told me, ‘You’re a match and you need to do this.’”

After not being able to save her brother in the past, Debby saw this as her chance to help someone and took it. The first thing both ladies asked for after the procedure was each other, and Jim wheeled Debby to Mylaen's room after doctors cleared her.

OLDEST AMERICAN ORGAN DONOR

Cecil Lockhart, a 95-year-old West Virginia local became the oldest organ donor in the US. According to Center for Organ Recovery & Education, his liver was donated after his passing on May 4 and saved the life of a woman in her 60s.

A single mother of two from New York, recently filed a complaint at the NYSHRC about her ex-boss, claiming she got her to donate a kidney and then had her fired.

Lockhart was inspired to be an organ donor after the passing of his son Stanley in 2010. Stanley's tissue donation helped save 75 people's lives and opened the eyes of two people after his corneas were transplanted.

WOMAN GIVES MOTHER LIVER

Heidy Lima decided to donate a part of her liver to her mother, Iris Blanco. While already a very loyal and heartwarming thing to do, the timing of it makes this extra special: she did it on Mother's Day. She said:

"She was the one that gave me life and now I can say I gave a little back.”

Her mother was not a priority on the donation list, but Lima found Cleveland Clinic Living Donor Program and applied to be one. After getting accepted, they went under the knife on Mother's Day Weekend and became the first living donor of the clinic.

WOMAN CLAIMS SHE WAS FIRED AFTER DONATING KIDNEY TO BOSS

Debbie Stevens, a single mother of two from New York, recently filed a complaint at the NY State Human Rights Commission about her ex-boss, claiming she got her to donate a kidney and then had her fired. She said:

"She just started treating me horribly, viciously, inhumanly after the surgery. It was almost like she hired me just to get my kidney."

Stevens was less than a perfect match for her boss, the 61-year-old Jackie Brucia who works for Atlantic Automotive Group. However, Brucia made her donate her kidney to another patient so she could go higher on the donation list.

After moving to Florida and moving back for the transplant in 2011, Stevens says she had health problems post-surgery. Within a week of hiring an attorney for the abuse at work and filed a complaint at the company, she was fired.

Her attorney is now suing the company and is hoping to bring the matter all the way up to federal court. Damages will be sought for Stevens' lost pay, as well as for her psychological and physical recovery afterward.