"Happy Mother’s Day Times Two for Queens Mom After Unlikely Kidney Transplant Saves Nine-Year-Old Boy’s Life"
After years of being sick, nine-year-old Zaheer Rahaman received a lifesaving kidney transplant at The Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at The Mount Sinai Hospital from a perfect stranger, Veronica Sarmiento. Veronica met Zaheer and his mother, Faleesha on their school playground after viewing a flyer asking for potential kidney donors. When Veronica learned she was a match for Zaheer she said, “If my child was sick, I would be devastated, and I’d want somebody to help. It’s just one of those things. You just give back, because you can. It’s something you can do.” Ron Shapiro, MD, professor of surgery at the Icahn School of Mount Sinai and surgical director of the kidney and pancreas transplant program at the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai Health System performed the transplant. According to Dr. Shapiro, “The organ comes with roughly a 50 percent chance of lasting for 20 to 30 years.” Dr. Shapiro also noted there are roughly 20,000 kidney transplants per year in the U.S., a relatively low figure. Corinne Benchimol, DO, assistant professor of pediatrics and pediatric nephrology and hypertension said, “Within days, the second-grader was playful, happy and comfortable. I think he’s going to do well. He should be fine.”
— Ron Shapiro, MD, Professor, Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Surgical Director, Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program, Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute, Mount Sinai Health System
— Corrine Benchimol, DO, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai