Transplant patients Ron and Yasmien Mathieu (left with the dog) with their family family

Ron and Yasmine Mathieu, left, with their family. 

Ron Mathieu had polycystic kidney disease (PKD). The cysts on his kidneys eventually erupted, causing them to fail.

His doctors told him that he needed a transplant, or he would have to go on dialysis. As he explored the option of living donor transplant, he faced another obstacle: his living donor, wife Yasmine Mathieu, had three renal arteries, rather than the normal, single artery.

Yasmine's triple arteries prompted another center to turn down the couple. Nevertheless, they did not give up or get discouraged.

After a quick online search led to UMMC, Ron and Yasmine flew from Little Rock, Ark., for a simultaneous bilateral nephrectomy and living donor transplant. University of Maryland Medical Center surgeons are one of a few in the U.S. to remove polycystic kidneys and transplant a healthy kidney in one operation.

Additionally, UMMC has world-renowned expertise in transplanting multiple artery kidney.

“I cannot tell you what a gift it was for us,” Yasmine Mathieu said.