Jeff needs a kidney. His sister Kristi Noone is determined to help him find one. Kristi joins Tom Leyden on the Westwood Living Podcast to share the remarkable story behind Westwood Living’s September cover feature, “A Chain of Hope,” and to explain why her family's search for a kidney donor has become so urgent. More than a decade ago, Jeff’s kidney disease progressed to the point that he needed a transplant. Family members and friends were tested, but none was a compatible match. Kristi, however, was healthy enough to donate. Through the National Kidney Registry, Kristi became part of an extraordinary paired kidney donation chain. She donated one of her kidneys to another recipient, and Jeff received a compatible kidney from another donor. What Kristi initially imagined might be a simple exchange ultimately became a nationwide chain involving 35 donor-recipient pairs, 70 people and approximately 25 hospitals. The transplant gave Jeff nine good years. But, as Kristi explains, a kidney transplant is a treatment, not a cure. Jeff’s transplanted kidney eventually began failing, and he has now been back on dialysis for approximately two years, three days a week. Kristi wishes she could donate again. “I don’t have any more extras.” So now she's doing everything she can to find someone who can help her brother. Jeff is 48, lives in Quincy and is a childhood cancer survivor. In a remarkable full-circle chapter of his life, he now works at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the place that helped save his life as a child. Despite dialysis and everything he is facing, he continues to work and move forward. “He’s definitely the strongest person I know,” Kristi says. In this conversation, Kristi explains how kidney donation works, what life has been like for her after donating, how paired donation can help when family members aren't compatible, and why someone interested in helping Jeff can confidentially learn more without making an immediate commitment. Most importantly, you do NOT have to live in Massachusetts to potentially help. Could you, or someone you know, be the person Jeff is looking for? LEARN MORE ABOUT DONATING: nkr.org/WAF939 Follow “Let’s Find Jeff a Kidney” on Facebook and Instagram. And please SHARE this episode. The person who can help Jeff could be anywhere in the country, and reaching that person starts by spreading the word. 🎙️ Westwood Living Podcast 🎤 Hosted by Tom Leyden 📖 Kristi Noone is featured on the cover of the September 2026 edition of Westwood Living.
