For Gregg Tetro, becoming a kidney donor wasn’t a difficult decision. It felt like a natural extension of a lifetime spent helping others. A retired firefighter and first responder, Gregg had dedicated his career to protecting lives. So when he saw a news story in early 2019 about a child in need of a kidney transplant, he felt compelled to act.

“I didn’t have any fear or hesitation,” Gregg says. “I had done some research and came to the conclusion that I had a greater chance of serious injury driving to the grocery store than I did donating a kidney.”

Despite never having surgery before, Gregg began the months-long process to become a living donor without knowing who would ultimately receive his kidney. The donor evaluation process was extensive and thorough, involving countless medical tests and meetings with transplant professionals, social workers, and mental health specialists.

“They make sure that you are healthy enough to become a donor,” Gregg explains. “At the end of the process, there is a team who meets to determine if you are. They all must agree that they believe it’s safe for you to donate.”

Just five months later, Gregg donated his kidney in Toledo, Ohio. That kidney went to Rodney, a San Diego man who had spent years battling kidney disease and enduring dialysis while waiting for a transplant. Only days after surgery, Gregg and Rodney met for the first time during a video call arranged by Gregg’s surgeon.

“When I had a video chat with Rodney and Marie a few days after I donated, it was surreal,” Gregg recalls. “Many people never get to meet the person who received their kidney and here I was meeting him five days after donating.”

But more than anything, Gregg felt gratitude. “As a retired first responder, I was so grateful that I was able to help him.”  Years later, when Gregg finally met Rodney and his wife Marie in person, the connection felt immediate. “It was like meeting with an old friend,” he says.

For many donors, the experience ends after surgery. For Gregg, it became the beginning of an entirely new mission.

After retiring, Gregg had been considering returning to work when he received an unexpected call from Kidneys for Communities founder Atul Agnihotri, who was searching for a first responder willing to speak publicly about kidney donation.

Gregg agreed to participate in interviews and advocacy efforts supporting kidney donation awareness among first responders. Over time, his involvement with Kidneys for Communities continued to grow.

Eventually, Gregg asked a simple question: “How can I do more to help?”

That conversation led him to specialized training focused on supporting both living donors and patients searching for kidney donors. Along the way, Rodney became an important resource.

“Rodney provided me with valuable insight about how to interact with a person who’s searching for a kidney donor,” Gregg says.

Today, Gregg continues working with Kidneys for Communities, helping others navigate the transplant journey he once experienced himself. And if given the chance? “Of all the donors I’ve ever met,” Gregg says, “all of them agree that they would do it again if they could.”