GoKawiilRochester man marks 48 years with mother's donated kidney, a Strong Hospital record
Ray Vetuskey of Webster, New York received a kidney from his mother Betty in a March 1978 transplant at Strong Hospital when he was 16, after dialysis failed to treat his kidney failure. Forty-eight years later, the kidney is still functioning, making Vetuskey the longest-surviving kidney transplant recipient in the hospital's history, according to Dr. Miklos Molnar, director of transplant medical services at URochester Medicine.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Dr. Molnar notes that living kidney donations typically last only 15 to 20 years, so this case far exceeds typical outcomes, which could offer transplant specialists a notable data point on long-term graft survival. The case also highlights how genetically close donor-recipient pairs, like a parent and child, may factor into durability, according to Molnar, though he frames the connection as both biological and emotional rather than purely clinical.
- A kidney donated by a mother to her 16-year-old son in 1978 is still functioning 48 years later.
- Doctors say this makes the recipient the longest-surviving kidney transplant patient in Strong Hospital's history.
- The case stands out because living-donor kidneys typically last only 15 to 20 years, per transplant physician Dr. Miklos Molnar.
Source: whec.com — Jennifer Lewke, 2026-10-01
Published there as: “Celebrating the 100th birthday of the kidney donated to him as a teenager”
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