NBC Sports employee gets a new lease on life after a coworker's selfless act

Kenneth Singleton and David Grindley are back on their feet after undergoing kidney surgeries. Two years ago, Singleton found out both his kidneys were failing. 

“They admitted me into Stamford Hospital and that day I became a dialysis patient,” Singleton said. 

The 62-year-old would have to get dialysis three times a week and was placed on the national transplant list. 

“I was getting ready for a marathon not a sprint,” Singleton said. “I was going to be maybe 10 years of going to dialysis, just dominating my schedule and life.”

Grindley, Singleton’s friend and colleague at NBC Sports, was on his own medical journey. The 48-year-old Grindley had separately made the decision to be a living donor for two reasons. 

“I viewed this as an opportunity to make an impact on someone’s life tremendously,” Grindley said. 

Secondly, Grindley wanted to honor his father, who was also named Kenneth. His dad waited about four years to receive a lung transplant. 

“As a family member, I knew how it felt to be waiting for, in this case my father, to get a phone call to say that we had a lung and that went on for years,” Grindley said. “It’s a real rollercoaster of emotion.”

The procedure gave the son and father duo three more years to create memories together. Grindley wanted to give that same gift to another family. So, when he found his coworker was in need, he did what any professional would do.

“I set up a Teams call, which is even stranger,” Grindley said. “And then I said just so you know, I’ve been approved to be a living donor, and I would like to look into giving you my kidney if we are a match.” 

“I almost hung up. I said someone is pranking me,” Singleton said. 

After getting off the call, Singleton felt relief. 

“It was such an amazing moment at that point because I was overjoyed, overwhelmed, I was ecstatic,” he said. 

The two men got tested and were a match. In April, which is National Donate Life Month, Singleton and Grindley underwent surgeries. One of Grindley’s kidneys was removed and then directly walked over to the neighboring operating room at Yale New Haven Hospital where doctors were preparing Singleton for the transplant. 

“I think one of the big misconceptions is that deceased kidney donors are equal to living donor kidney, they are not even close,” Yale New Haven Hospital Dr. Sanjay Kulkarni said. “Living donor kidneys are far superior because you are getting something from a perfectly healthy person, who has had extensive testing. Many of the deceased donors may be transplanted after being on ice for a prolonged period of time.”

Dr. Kulkarni said in the New England region it could take six to eight years to get a kidney. According to World Population Review, there are currently 927 people on the waitlist for a kidney in Connecticut. 

“Because there is such a need and if you look at our general population, certainly there are enough kidneys in living donors to fulfill the needs of transplants,” Dr. Kulkarni added. 

Singleton and Grindley are trying to get the word out to show that living donation is safe and can change lives. 

“The joy of getting my freedom back from dialysis, that is the most important thing and what he has done for me is extend my life and now I can participate back to normal,” Singleton said.

For information regarding living organ donation at Yale New Haven Hospital click here.