LI woman steps up to donate life-saving kidney to best friend

Eleanor Lalima and Lisa Figueroa Filosa have been best friends for 30 years. And for much of their time together, Lalima has been battling kidney disease, which she was diagnosed with when she was 16.

News 12 Staff

Jun 10, 2021, 1:54 PM

Updated 1,293 days ago

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A woman from Long Island showed how deep friendship runs by giving the life-saving gift of her own kidney.
Eleanor Lalima and Lisa Figueroa Filosa have been best friends for 30 years. And for much of their time together, Lalima has been battling kidney disease, which she was diagnosed with when she was 16.
The battle was a serious one -- Lalima has already lost her mother and brother to the disease.
The next step in saving her life was a kidney transplant, according to Stony Brook University Hospital doctors. So she put out a public call for help.
Many loved ones reached out to Lalima, but Filosa was first, and she quickly learned that she was a match.
Two weeks ago, the pair went into surgery, which was successful and saw them released less than a week later.
"My mother was on the transplant list for over eight years due to her rare blood type and she didn't get the same chance I have now," says Lalima. "To get a kidney in such a short time is really amazing and it gives me a chance at a better life."
"Just when you think a lifelong friendship can't be any stronger, you share a kidney," says Filosa.
Photos courtesy Stony Brook Medicine