‘A morally good act’

‘SELF-GIVING’  Joseph Porretta (right) of St. Cecilia Parish in Rockaway donated a kidney during surgery on Oct. 2 at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston as part of a nationwide organ-donor network. In turn, another donor in the network provided a kidney to Tiffany Sheppard (left) of Clifton, the chronically ill niece of Porretta’s best friend. The Church calls organ donation an “act of self-giving.”

ROCKAWAY  Tiffany Sheppard of Clifton had to wait a few more anxious hours on Oct. 2 to receive her new, life-saving kidney. That day, the organ, harvested from a donor in Utah, got stuck in traffic from the airport in New York City on the way to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston for her long-awaited transplant surgery. No worries, though — that special delivery, the fresh kidney kept cold in a cooler, finally made it to the hospital by mid-morning for the chronically ill Sheppard.

Although a few hours late, the donor kidney, in another sense, arrived right on time for 24-year-old Sheppard, who, for the past three years, faced end-stage renal failure and suffered through three dialysis sessions per week. Sheppard’s happy ending actually stars two “guardian angels”: her anonymous organ donor and Joseph Porretta of St. Cecilia Parish here. On the same day, he donated a kidney to another recipient as part of a nationwide organ transplant chain that, in turn, provided one for Sheppard. The Church calls organ donation “a morally good act of self-giving.”

“My wife, Kathy, and I are floored with Joe’s organ donation,” said Joseph Bray, who with his wife, Kathy, have maintained guardianship of the developmentally disabled Sheppard, his wife’s biological niece, for the past 18 years. Still, Bray calls her “my daughter.” He has been best friends with the 51-year-old Porretta since they were both students at Clifton High School. “There is nothing that Joe won’t do. He’s always had my back but I didn’t ever think that he would ever have my back — and Tiffany’s back — like this. I am so grateful,” he said.

Today, both Sheppard and Porretta are recovering well at home from surgery, performed in early October, during Respect Life Month. Now, Sheppard can live a full life again free of dialysis with a kidney that is expected to last more than 20 years. Also, she can return to competing in track and field events for the summer Special Olympics in Trenton in June. An athlete in the games since age 13, she runs the 100-yard dash and competes in the softball throw and javelin throw. A retired New Jersey parole officer, Porretta donated a kidney that went to a 37-year-old man in California, he said.

“I’m blessed to be able to do this [donate a kidney],” said Porretta who praised the St. Barnabas staff for its “wonderful care.” “God worked through me to help answer the prayers of people. I’m glad that God gave me the health and courage to do it,” he said.

Sheppard’s health crisis started in 2016, when she went for a physical — part of her “aging out” of the public education system at 21 years old and into an adult day program. Some troubling results led to more tests, which concluded that she was experiencing end-stage renal failure and had one kidney, said Bray, who works in the mail room of Harris Corporation in Clifton.

“My wife and I were devastated. Tiffany has had a rough life; she should never have to endure this,” Bray said. The dialysis sessions three times a week caused stress on the Brays, which include their 12-year-old son, Nickolas. “Through all of her health problems, Tiffany’s spirit never wavered. She stayed upbeat with her outgoing disposition,” he said.

Likewise, Porretta called Sheppard “A sweetheart. If you meet her once, she’s your friend for life.”

Filled with compassion, Porretta filled out an online organ-donor form and visited the Living Donor Institute at St. Barnabas. Testing determined that he was a match for Sheppard. But he and the Brays wanted her to get a kidney from a donor closer in age to give her a chance at a longer life than she would have had with Porretta’s kidney. Through the hospital, they teamed with the National Kidney Registry, which got them in touch with a chain of eight donors, who were matched up with eight potential recipients, including Sheppard, he said. Porretta’s two-hour surgery — which was pushed back from September due to complications from another chain member — involved harvesting the kidney in a laparoscopic procedure: the insertion of instruments into several small incisions. He experienced few after effects, just some pain from the nitrogen that was pumped into his body cavity during surgery. For a while yet, Porretta is prohibited from lifting anything heavier than 20 pounds or exercising like his usual biking and racquetball, he said.

Among those heartened by Porretta’s self-giving is Father Zig Peplowski, St. Cecilia’s pastor, who has known the donor’s family, which includes wife Laura and 18-year-old son Joseph, for years. They attend Mass weekly at the Morris County parish and periodically cook food for its outreach to a local food pantry. Porretta attended the annual diocesan Blue Mass for law enforcement, when he served as a State parole officer. He grew up in St. Paul Parish in Clifton, where he served as an altar server and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and attended the former parish school, from K-8.

“I’m proud of Joseph that he gave in such an unselfish manner to someone in a bad spot. He responded with courage and generosity, which Christ calls us to do,” Father Peplowski said.

As a faithful Catholic, Porretta conducted research online beforehand to discover that the Church approves of organ donation. The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services “affirm that organ donations from the living is a noble and charitable act, while specifying at the same time that the donation will not sacrifice or seriously impair any essential functioning of the donor.” The Church teaches that when a person has been indisputably determined to be dead, his or her organs can be donated, as stated by both St. Pius XII and St. John Paul II.

In trying to find the words for Porretta’s selfless act, Bray calls his best friend “our guardian angel.”

“Joe was put on this earth to do great stuff and he’s doing it,” Bray said.