After the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC performed the country's first pediatric paired kidney donation on July 8, the two families involved in the reciprocal transplant met for the first time at the hospital this morning.

Five-year-old Bennett Huibregtse of South Fayette and 37-year-old Jenny Neely of Canonsburg both received kidneys at the Children's Hospital through the Paired Donation Network. Bennett's father, 40-year-old Dean Huibregtse, donated his kidney to Ms. Neely, while Ms. Neely's aunt, 50-year-old Ruby Aguilar, gave her kidney to Bennet.

The two families embraced in the sixth-floor lobby of the hospital, asking about each other's recovery and comparing stories about when they received word of the donor match. Several members of both families wiped away tears as they talked about how much better Ms. Neely and Bennett are feeling since the operation.

"I dreamed about this, about someday being able to do this," said Kristin Huibregtse, Bennett's mother. "I can't describe how wonderful it is, being a mom, and having some normalcy in my son's life again."

Ms. Huibregtse said she has noticed marked changes in her son since he received his new kidney -- he is more energetic and there is more color to his skin, she said. Bennet received a cadaver kidney when he was 3 years old, but his body ultimately rejected it. Ms. Huibregtse said she has much higher hopes for this new kidney that came directly from a living donor.

Paired donations occur when an individual wants to donate an organ to a sick family member but cannot because their organ types do not match. So the potential organ donor registers with the national Paired Donation Network and agrees to donate an organ to a different person in exchange for a matching organ from that person's family member. UPMC's chapter of the Paired Donation Network has 40 potential donors registered.

Ms. Neely has already been discharged from the hospital. Bennett will likely be able to leave tomorrow or Thursday.