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Patient's online pal turns out to be match for kidney transplant

MISHAWAKA, Ind.- Ruth Newhouse said many prayers as her kidney disease worsened over the years, seeking consolation in a friend she met online in a Christian chat room.

As it turned out, that pal gave her more than just an online shoulder to cry on _ he also offered her one of his kidneys and proved a match.

Steve Rainwater is scheduled go under the knife Friday when surgeons transplant one of the Lorton, Va., man's kidneys into Newhouse.

"I've told him, 'I can't believe you're giving me this kidney,'" said Newhouse, 55. "He tells me, 'I'm not doing it. The Lord is. I'm just his instrument.'"

The Mishawaka woman met Rainwater, 40, in a chat room about four years ago. They finally met Tuesday, three days before the scheduled surgery at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis.

"We would chitchat (online) two or three times a week. We just became really good friends," Rainwater, a heavy equipment operator, told the South Bend Tribune for a story Wednesday.

Rainwater, who teaches Sunday school classes, said he has dedicated his life to his faith and had no hesitation about donating one of his kidneys.

As the pair corresponded in e-mail and instant messages over the years, Rainwater learned more about Newhouse's kidney disease. Eventually, he told Newhouse he would donate a kidney when she was ready.

Newhouse, who has been suffering from kidney disease for more than half her life, was placed on the national transplant list this summer because of her fading kidney function.

But the transplant list is long _ with 80,553 people waiting for a new kidney as of Tuesday. Last year, the National Kidney Foundation said 2,025 patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant.

The way to beat the odds is to arrange with a private donor, usually a family member.

The team at the IU Medical Center that will perform the surgery was at first skeptical about the surgery, given that Newhouse and Rainwater had never met face-to-face. They weren't convinced that Rainwater was sincere.

"They really weren't in favor of it because of how we met," she said.

But Rainwater, who is single, convinced them of his sincerity and when he passed all the tests, the transplant was approved.

He and Newhouse will be admitted to the hospital Thursday night in advance of Friday's four-hour surgery. There is about a 6 percent risk the organ will be rejected.

Ray Bearden, pastor of a Woodbridge, Va., church where Rainwater teaches Sunday school, said he was not surprised by Rainwater's decision.

"Steve's just a big old lovable guy," he said. "It's quite a sacrifice, but for Steve, it's in his character. He's just a generous spirit."