Four pairs brought together through Geisinger’s kidney donation program

Todd Cline’s kidneys were failing. The 60-year-old was undergoing home dialysis and placed on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. In early 2024, Mr. Cline’s wife, Dawn Cline, stepped up to donate one of her kidneys to her husband.

But it turned out the Lewistown couple weren’t a good match — in a medical sense.  Ms. Cline decided instead she’d donate a kidney to a stranger who was compatible. Her decision touched off a remarkable chain of events at Geisinger Medical Center: Four willing donors, including Ms. Cline, who were not a match with their intended recipients, were instead paired with 4 strangers on the national kidney transplant waiting list.

The 4 recipients and 4 donors participated in the living donor paired donation program at Geisinger. The program pairs a donor with a match and finds a new match for the patient who needs a kidney.  

With the living donor program, recipients may not have to wait as long for a kidney as they would being on the transplant waiting list. That means less time on dialysis — or perhaps even avoiding dialysis entirely. 

The 4 kidney transplants took place in May and June 2024. Here’s how they happened:

• Ms. Cline donated a kidney to Austin Catherman of Mifflinburg, Pa.
• Mr. Catherman’s mother, Patricia Catherman, had volunteered to donate a kidney to her son, but wasn’t an ideal match due to their age difference. Instead, she donated to Guy Higdon of Carbondale, Pa.
• Mr. Higdon’s sister-in-law, Shannon Cheripka, had volunteered to travel from her home in Powder Springs, Ga., to donate to her brother-in-law, but wasn’t a match. So she donated to Joseph Johnson of Wysox, Pa.
• Ben Benjamin of Rome, Pa., had wanted to donate a kidney to his friend Mr. Johnson. But because he wasn’t a match, Mr. Benjamin donated to Todd Cline.

Geisinger living donor coordinator Denise Hall worked with the families and arranged all the matches. It’s not every day that Ms. Hall deals with an arrangement involving 4 pairs.

“We’re always looking for internal exchanges, to see if we can match pairs we have within our system. It turned out these 4 pairs worked out and they were all willing to move forward,” Ms. Hall says.

“Donating is a selfless act to begin with, but to still agree to donate even though you’re not compatible with who you want to donate to is pretty remarkable.”

Dawn Cline

Ms. Cline, 49, said she decided to join the program to help her husband and another person who needed a kidney.

“We met the other families. They were so grateful. It felt like family,” she said.

And if it were possible, Ms. Cline says she’d donate again with no hesitation. “Regardless of what you go through in recovery, it’s all worth it. You saved a life. You don’t notice your kidney is not there. Donating doesn’t have any negative effects.”

Todd Cline

What’s it like having a new healthy kidney? At age 60, says Mr. Cline, “I got my life back.” 

He adds, “People don’t realize how much dialysis takes from your life. I was going 3 days a week for at least 4 hours away from home.”

And now that it’s all over, “I feel 100%,” Mr. Cline says. “I went back to work in early August. I tell my wife all the time I owe it all to her — she started all this.”

But he’s grateful to his donor, too, adding, “I message Ben Benjamin from time to time and tell him his kidney is working well in my body.”

Patricia Catherman

Ms. Catherman’s son Austin was diagnosed with kidney disease around 2019. 

“From the time of his diagnosis, the goal for Austin was to find a living kidney donor before he would require dialysis, and Denise Hall worked diligently to make that happen,” she says.

Key to making it happen was the paired donation program, and Ms. Catherman, 63, was glad to participate. “It was going to help Austin get a kidney sooner and would benefit someone else,” she says. “I was happy to do that. I have faith in God and it helped me to trust it was happening the way it should.”

She also loved the camaraderie that came with the network-style donation process. “It was a joy to get to know Dawn and Todd Cline and to be able to express our appreciation to her for donating to Austin. We also got to know Guy [Higdon] and his wife and hear their story.”

Austin Catherman

Though he was just 22, before his kidney transplant, Mr. Catherman was always tired and had no energy.

“I slept all the time and didn’t have much time to do anything or even work,” he says. “I couldn’t stay awake to hang out with friends.”

He’s grateful to Dawn Cline for donating the kidney that turned his life around.

“Today I’m able to stay awake all day, which is nice,” Mr. Catherman says. “I really want to get back to hanging out with friends and riding 4-wheelers with them.”

Guy Higdon

Mr. Higdon, 52, was diagnosed with kidney disease about 8 years ago.

“It came to a head when I needed to go on dialysis and they put me on the transplant list,” he says.

But then the paired donation program came through for him. “I’m very grateful Patricia [Catherman] gave me a life,” Mr. Higdon says. “How do you say thank you for something like that?”

Plus, he’s amazed at how Geisinger orchestrated the 4-way transplant. “Denise Hall was awesome,” he says, adding, “I’m extremely grateful to all. It worked out wonderfully for me and my family.”

Shannon Cheripka

Ms. Cheripka, 53, had hoped to donate a kidney to her brother-in-law, Mr. Higdon. But their blood types weren’t a match. 

Still, she says, “I wanted to help. If I couldn’t help Guy directly, maybe I could help someone else. I found out Joseph [Johnson] had kidney disease since he was born and I was a perfect match for him.”

As a mother of 2, Ms. Cheripka based her decision on her own experiences. “I thought, ‘What if my child needed it?’ I would be happy if somebody stepped up. If I had 10 more kidneys, I’d donate 10 more times.”

Joseph Johnson

Mr. Johnson, 31, had kidney disease since he was a baby and was on dialysis for over 5 years, which drained his energy and stamina. He couldn’t work or exercise.

Family friend Ben Benjamin stepped up to donate a kidney, but their blood types didn’t match. So Mr. Johnson is grateful that Ms. Cheripka agreed to be his match.

“For her to give up a kidney, it is life-altering. It got rid of all my worries overnight,” he says.

“I’m excited to get back to work — I’ve been out of work for over a year. I returned to the gym and am starting to run again. I’d really like to start traveling.”

Ben Benjamin

“My mother donated her kidney for a friend 10 years ago. She led by example,” says Mr. Benjamin, 43. He wanted to do the same for his friend Joseph Johnson.

“I didn’t match with Joseph, but I found out about the match program and I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ It felt right.”

Mr. Benjamin’s feelings were confirmed when he got to know the recipient. “When I met Todd Cline, I made a friend right away,” he says. “Todd and Dawn are good people. I was glad to do that for them.”

And he’s grateful for the coordinator of it all: Denise Hall.

“She is an amazing woman and deserves all the recognition,” he says. “She was like an angel. She made it feel less institutional and more personal. That takes some kind of special person.”

Next steps:

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Learn about Geisinger’s living donor program
Explore kidney care at Geisinger