Siblings give each other the best possible gift this year

North Brunswick Sentinel | Jennifer Amato

The greatest gift you can give in life is the gift of life.

The gift has a little more meaning when it’s from sibling to sibling.

Kristyn Testa, 31, of North Brunswick, donated a kidney to her older brother, Michael, 33, of Riverton, in October.

Michael had chemotherapy when he was 5 years old. He was on a concoction of 10 medications in the early 1980s for about a year, medications he said that are no longer prescribed because of the ramifications they had on patients. He said this ultimately led to his kidney failure.

At the age of 18 he was diagnosed with nephritic syndrome. He had two major flare-ups that caused edema, but the problem was alleviated with medication. Yet after he passed out in a store in October 2009, doctors realized he had acute kidney failure.

Read more: http://ns.gmnews.com/news/2011-12-01/Front_Page/Siblings_give_each_other_the_best_possible_gift_th.html