Ferndale judge says he owes his life to co-worker’s kidney donation

OAKLAND PRESS NEWS | Mike McConnell

Ferndale 43rd District Judge Joseph Longo says he owes his life to Court Administrator Linda Carroll, who stepped forward to donate one of her kidneys to the judge. Longo was on dialysis and says he had a small chance of living long enough to get a kidney through a donor program. Liz Carnegie photo for the Daily Tribune

Ferndale Judge Joseph Longo was in his office after another exhausting kidney dialysis session when his court administrator Linda Carroll walked in and changed his life.

She wanted to donate a kidney to the judge, she said. 

Carroll had researched the transplant procedure on her own. She understood Longo’s chances of surviving long enough on dialysis to get a cadaver kidney through a donor program were nearly hopeless.

Her selfless offer stunned the 43rd District judge.

“I could have fallen out of my chair,” Longo said. “It was completely out of the blue ... I can’t describe how you feel when someone offers you life.”

He told his efficient court administrator she needed first to talk to her family, but she had already taken care of that.

Carroll was determined and knew she and the judge shared the same blood type. She told Longo she was ready to take the next step with medical tests on their tissue compatibility before transplant surgery. Continue reading

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