Alameda Firefighter Gets New Kidney Thanks To Social Media

ALAMEDA, CA —Alameda Firefighter Brandon Baley received a new kidney after meeting his donor on social media. The lifesaving surgery would not have been possible without the efforts of his girlfriend Coryn, who took to Facebook and Instagram to share his story, the Alameda Sun reported Aug. 2.

Baley, an 11-year veteran of the Alameda Fire Department, was diagnosed with Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in January 2019, The Sun reported.

According to the Mayo Clinic, FSGS is a disease where scar tissue develops in the parts of the kidneys that filter waste from the blood. Most people diagnosed with the disease, have no known cause for their condition, but Baley told the Sun he believed it was caused by his time fighting the Camp Fire in Butte County in November 2018.

According to the Sun, Doctors at UC Davis monitored Baley, who continued working as a firefighter at Alameda Fire Station #1, after his diagnosis and in June 2021 told him he would need a kidney transplant. Once he was placed on the transplant list, Coryn took to social media to tell Baley’s story.

According to The Sun, Doctors at UC Davis monitored Baley, who continued working as a firefighter at Alameda Fire Station #1, after his diagnosis and in June 2021 told him he would need a kidney transplant. Once he was placed on the transplant list, Coryn took to social media to tell Baley’s story.

Coryn’s posts were quickly shared and reposted by other firefighters, fire departments and fire unions across the country then on New Year’s Eve last year San Lorenzo resident Michelle Yee, saw the post and reached out to a firefighter friend of hers who also knew Baley, and that friend connected the two, The Sun reported.

Lee, who had applied for the US Davis kidney donor list, told The Sun that she had always wanted to donate a kidney after her father, and two friends had died from terminal illness. She said it was something she felt she had to do.

Baley was put on dialysis while tests were completed to see if he and Lee were a match. After seven months of testing, Lee found out she was a match for Baley and on July 1 surprised him, with the help of the other firefighters, by telling him the news in person while he was at work, The Sun reported.

Baley received his new kidney at UC Davis Hospital July 26 and while the two are still recovering, the surgery was a success, according to The Sun.

In a letter posted to the Alameda Fire Fighters Facebook page, Baley, who is president of the Alameda Firefighters IAFF Local 689, thanked Coryn for her efforts and both his firefighting family and his family for their support.

“First and foremost, I have to thank my better half, Coryn,” he wrote. “Without her, I can guarantee that we would have had a funeral long before transplant surgery. She is my rock and the reason I have been able to get to this point.”

Baley, who plans on returning to work in October, also thanked Lee for donating the kidney that saved his life.

“To my donor, Michelle, I am forever grateful for your generosity,” Baley wrote in the letter. “You have given me and my family a fresh start and a new life. You are a saint, and I wish the world had more people like you. I cannot imagine being on this journey with anyone else.”

Read more at The Alameda Sun.