Lansing, Michigan (WILX) – March is National Kidney Month and April is National Organ Donor Month.
The two are celebrated by mid-Michigan families who tell a life-saving story and hope that others will become organ donors.
At Grasslake High School, Ethan Brown is a two-sports athlete, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring, but in the summer of 2024, Ethan was sidelined by both.
Life, which I knew Ethan was coming, was in turn.
“Finger snap… I need a kidney transplant,” recalls Ethan.
When he was only two years old, Ethan was diagnosed with Alport syndrome. This is a genetic condition that causes kidney disease, hearing loss, and vision problems.
Ethan inherited the condition from his mother, Britanni.
Since the age of two, Britanni and Ethan's father Dustin knew one day that his son would need a kidney transplant.
They received the news on March 27, 2024.
“I think we were all denying you until we hit you in the face…now is the time,” Britanni said.
The clock was ticking past to find a kidney donor.
Please enter Ethan's Aunt Marissabrown.
Sharing one of her kidneys with Ethan was always deep inside her heart.
“I wanted to do it for him, and I wanted to be that person,” Marissa said.
Marissa is married to Dustin's brother, decreasing the possibility that it is an acceptable donor match, not something related to Ethan.
However, she had the correct blood type and was O-positive with o-negative Ethan.
Marissa was positive that she wanted to know if she could become a match.
“So, as soon as my family said he was ready to be on the donor list, I said I was going. Let's go,” Marissa said.
Marissa went with Ethan and his parents to meet the kidney transplant team at the University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital.
While they were there, Marissa was tested and the results from the lab were on high speed trucks.
On June 14th, 2024, Marissa received the news she was praying for.
“Yes, we were 100%…I'm glad you went…it was pretty cool,” Marissa said.
Marissa revealed the big news that it was a 100% game two days later, after one of Ethan's baseball games.
Not only did Ethan win that baseball game, he was also trying to get a new kidney.
“I was just in shock… like Froze. What the hell is it… Then I just started crying,” Ethan said.
Aunt Marissa had a banner and a custom-made T-shirt that was made to make the moment memorable.
However, all of the joys begin to fade as Ethan's kidney function rapidly begins to fail at a pace.
“He looked terrible, his health quickly fell down along with his kidney function,” Marissa recalls.
Ethan's renal function has gone from 50% to just 8%.
Marissa says Ethan didn't have to start dialysis because she even managed to raise the implant surgery for a few weeks.
September 6th, 2024 was the day of my transplant surgery.
Marissa and Ethan are in good spirits and text messages to each other from their hospital beds.
Less than four hours later, Ethan had a new kidney, a gift of life from her aunt Marissa.
“The most surprising part was seeing him come back to life,” Marissa said.
Ethan turns 16 on St. Patrick's Day and feels lucky today that he feels so good just six months after getting his new kidneys.
“It's amazing. I don't feel like I've ever felt the surgery,” Ethan says.
Ethan and Marissa hope their stories will encourage others to consider becoming kidney donors.
“It's like a big deal… share your spare,” says Marissa.
Whether you are related to blood or not, Marissa says you may have the right genetic puzzle piece to match perfectly.
“It's literally saving lives, so look at it… I'm literally trying to bring someone back to life,” Marissa says.
The enormity of his aunt's selflessness has not been lost in Ethan.
“Because she donated her kidneys, I'm still here,” Ethan said.
Find out more about Michigan organ and tissue donations. Click here.
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