“The doctors, surgeons, the entire team, they made me feel like family. The care was tremendous, not just for me but for my loved ones too. I never felt alone.”
For Samad Washington, a kidney transplant recipient and member of the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) family, the journey to renewed health was anything but easy. A familiar face on campus through his work with our Security team, Samad has dedicated the last three years to CBMC, following two years at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. But it was here, at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, where his life changed forever.
“When I first found out I had kidney failure, it hit me hard. I thought I was invincible. I played basketball, football, was an avid weight trainer. There was never anything that really exposed me to my vulnerabilities until that moment,” Samad shared. “Dialysis was a whole new level of challenge. The mental and physical adjustments were intense.”
For four and a half years, Samad underwent dialysis, unsure if a transplant would ever come. “I really thought that was going to be my life. But my support system always reminded me: this isn’t where it ends,” he said. “The nurses and staff always encouraged me. They said, ‘Keep a bag ready. When your time comes, things are going to move fast.’”
And they did. On September 2, 2022, Samad received the call that changed his life: a kidney was available. “The doctors, surgeons, the entire team, they made me feel like family. The care was tremendous, not just for me but for my loved ones too. I never felt alone.”
Now, two years post-transplant, Samad is regaining his strength and spirit. “I can move around again without getting easily fatigued. I’m back to bike riding, and I’m really starting to feel like myself again.”
“Even now, when I’m stationed in the Medical Center’s East Wing, staff come up to me just to check-in. If I need something, they don’t hesitate. Even if they don’t know the answer, they’ll find someone who does. That means a lot,” he shared.
Samad remains under the attentive care of Bindu Nandigam, MD, a transplant physician at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center. “Samad is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and lifesaving impact of organ donation. As his transplant nephrologist, it has been an honor to walk along him in his recovery and witness his strength, dedication, and gratitude,” shares Dr. Nandigam.
Above all, Samad is profoundly grateful for the gift of life. “To my donor and their family, thank you. You gave me another chance to live.”
During this year's Donate Life Flag Raising Ceremony, we not only celebrated Samad’s incredible journey, but we also honored two courageous organ donors whose legacies live on through the lives they’ve saved: Devadoss Anthony Subbiah who became donor at CBMC in 2022 and Jason Wetmore who became an organ donor at CBMC in 2018. Their stories remind us of the selfless acts of generosity that give others the gift of time, of hope, and of healing.
About the Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.
The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division, located in Livingston, NJ, is one of the leading kidney transplant centers in the country. The Transplant Division at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center offers compassionate and comprehensive transplant care for adult and pediatric kidney patients.