Olivia McDonough was only 26 years old and newly married when she found out she was facing kidney failure at a rapid pace. The year was 1974, and her doctors told her she would need a kidney transplant, imminently. “I was so scared,” Olivia remembers. “I felt rudderless, having no fellow transplant patients to talk to about my deteriorating health and what to expect.”
Now, more than 51 years later, under the care of Leonardo Riella, MD, PhD, medical director of kidney transplantation at Mass General Brigham (MGB), associate director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance and the Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplantation, Olivia is the longest living transplant patient at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Today, her transplanted kidney, donated by her mother, is 103 years old. And as an active advocate for the transplant community, Olivia serves as a reassuring resource for new transplant patients — a resource that she so desperately needed as a terrified young person.
Olivia and her husband, Tom, are now retired and divide their time between Cape Cod and Florida with their two rescued dogs and three cats, spending much of their time with their three daughters and six granddaughters, all of whom reside in New England.
Olivia and Tom say they chose Mass General Brigham for her nephology care after researching numerous academic medical centers. “We felt that Mass General and MGB would provide the best care based on the caliber of the medical team and their excellent reputation,” says Olivia. “And my experience has absolutely been the best. The quality of care and the clinical expertise are unmatched.”
Support Based in Experience
As the recipient of an organ transplant when the procedure was much newer to medicine, Olivia is driven to ensure that no one feels as alone as she did in 1974.
The first ever organ transplant was a kidney transplant conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1954, and, in 2024, Dr. Riella led the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically edited pig (porcine) kidney at Mass General.
“It was just incredible to see my doctor on my television discussing this enormous step forward for those fighting renal failure,” Olivia says. “It gives me so much hope for future patients to see how far we’ve come.”
“Dr. Riella’s kindness and compassion toward his patients makes us feel that our total wellbeing is top priority, not just our renal health,” she says. “We all want to be seen as our whole selves, not reduced to one of our experiences or struggles. Dr. Riella treats each patient as a whole person.”
Olivia works with Dr. Riella to provide support and comradery to patients undergoing kidney transplants today.
“Once I had a successful transplant, I knew I’d like to reach out to other patients awaiting transplants, to give them hope and help reduce their fears, and to help them process the roller coaster of emotions connected with a lifesaving surgery,” she says.
Whether it’s answering questions that only someone who has undergone a transplant can answer, speaking about her journey as a lifelong kidney transplant recipient, sharing her strategies for staying healthy and active — or simply serving as a reminder that one can live a long, full life with a transplanted organ — Olivia is committed to being available for her fellow transplant patients at MGB. She’s even helped Tom to become involved in the community as a volunteer as well, who served as chairman of the board of the National Kidney Foundation.
“When I meet new transplant patients, I try to remind them that sometimes emotions post-transplant can be overwhelming, but finding joy and purpose in life can mitigate these feelings,” Olivia says. “Thinking of small and achievable daily goals was so helpful for me as I healed.”
A Life of Service to Others
Olivia is no stranger to advocacy. Growing up with two deaf parents, she has always been uniquely attuned to the obstacles faced by those living with disabilities.
“I grew up always being helpful,” Olivia says. “Helping to translate sign language for my parents, advocating for them and helping them navigate situations where things were inaccessible to them.”
As a college student, Olivia tagged along with her mother on a school trip for deaf and blind students that had a lifechanging impact on her. “I knew right then and there that’s what I wanted to do with my life,” she says. She went on to change her undergraduate major to education, pursued a master’s degree in special education and became a teacher in a school for the blind for 13 years. “I learned so much from my students,” she says. “They taught me so much more about life than I ever could have taught them.”
Even after that chapter of her career closed, Olivia continued to find ways to pay it forward, spending her time volunteering with animal rescue organizations and supporting fellow transplant patients.
“Giving back to the transplant community and being an advocate has been an important part of my life on many levels,” says Olivia. “It all began in 1974, when, as a patient on dialysis, I was facing an unknown future until my mother donated her kidney. I hope my story will inspire today’s patients and give hope for a healthy future.”
To find out more how you can support Mass General’s Transplant Center, contact us.
