Darlene Morganti, right, will receive a new kidney through a transplant procedure made possible by the participation of her son Michael, right, in UPMC’s paired exchange program. P-J photo by Cameron Hurst

Darlene Morganti couldn’t help but get emotional.

“I have to keep pinching myself because I’m not sure it’s actually real,” she said.

Over the last year-and-a-half, the Lakewood resident has endured the hardships of kidney disease: constant nausea, fatigue and the day-to-day struggles that come with at-home peritoneal dialysis treatments.

Pair that with a full-day of work at Fletcher Elementary School plus an occasional night shift at Davidson’s Family Restaurant and it’s no wonder why some days are unbearable.

“The waiting has been so hard,” Morganti said. “That (dialysis) machine, I know it’s keeping me alive, it’s just six hours of just being on that machine. I feel nauseous a lot of times, but I have to keep moving along. I can’t let go — I have so much more to do.”

Soon though, those will be issues of the past and she’ll be able to live her life without a machine — all thanks to an act of selfless love by her son Michael.

On Thursday, Darlene will receive a new kidney through a transplant surgery at UPMC Hamot from a living donor whom she does not know. The transplant is made possible through UPMC’s paired exchange program, made available to intended recipients who have medically eligible donors that have an incompatible blood type or antigens. Michael will then donate his kidney in the immediate future to a stranger.

Michael, as well as several members of Darlene’s immediate family, were tested to see if they were a compatible match for her.

“The doctor said more usual than not a mother and a son are not a match,” she explained, noting that kidney disease runs in her family. “My daughters each got tested too, but one daughter has Crohn’s disease and another daughter has kidney issues.”

While none were a match, Michael’s prognosis showed that he would not have the same issues as his mother down the road. At that point, nephrologists informed them of the “swap program.”

“I wasn’t that informed about it,” he said of the program. “I thought I was just being tested for my mom. … When my wife said that she could still get one and that I could help somebody else out in return, I got on the phone right then and there and said I’m willing to do the swap. It kind of went fast after that.”

It has pained him to watch his mother endure all the effects of kidney disease, he said.

“Her kidney function has been decreasing for as long as I can remember,” Michael, a Jamestown Police Department detective, said. “Now it’s in that time where it’s either do-or-die. She needs a kidney or it’s over. You see what she goes through with the dialysis and the struggle with that — anything that I can do to help, I’m here.”

Doctors informed the Morgantis that a match had been found for Darlene last month.

“All of a sudden (Michael’s wife) Allison texted me ‘Congratulations!'” said Darlene. “I had no idea, they hadn’t called me yet. I didn’t know anything about it.”

The transplant team informed Darlene that the donor was a 100% match.

“My blood type is a very hard one to match because of the antibodies and it’s just such a blessing there was a person willing to step forward,” Darlene said.

“It’s amazing,” she added. “The only thing I can think of that would say how I feel, is this wouldn’t be happening if not for my son. He is my hero. I could cry just thinking about it. He is truly one in a million. I have no other words for it.”

The process has only been elongated due to the impact of COVID-19 on the transplant process. Morganti told The Post-Journal in May that several living donors had come forward after a Buffalo television station featured her story of need.

But, a month later, the testing process had been delayed due to precautions related to the virus. Even those family members willing to be tested were forced to wait until the middle of the summer.

“Now everything is at a halt and I’m just scared that everyone is going to forget about it, not just for me but for other people in the same situation,” she said at the time.

“I said, in the beginning, I just needed to have faith,” Darlene said earlier this week. “Some days the faith was just falling a little bit behind. I have all these beautiful grandkids. I can’t go yet. I have so much more to do with them and I want to feel better. The doctor said that I would feel better so hopefully, that is the case.”

While the hospital cannot tell her the identity of the Pittsburgh-based donor, she will be allowed to send a letter to the individual. The individual at that point can come forward to reveal themself.

“I do know it’s a woman,” Darlene, who will travel to Erie on Wednesday with her husband Rick, said. “I hope that after I write the letter, the donor will able to write back to me. Words can’t thank her enough and I’m going to make sure she knows that. It’s a blessing.”

Still, she can’t help but be overwhelmed by her son’s selflessness.

“I’m very, very lucky,” she said. “My son is just my hero.”

But to Michael, thinking of others before himself is just a part of his family’s fabric.

He added, “That’s just the way I am. That’s the way she taught me to be. She’s done everything for me my whole life. This is just a little bit to pay back.”