By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

A year ago, Maui resident Lorena Diego-Stepp was the first person in Hawai'i and one of only

a few in the nation to donate a kidney to a stranger. She wasn't joking when she said she wished she had more kidneys to give. There were so many more lives she wanted to save.

In a way, she did.

Because of her, five other Hawai'i residents came forward to do the same thing.

"I don't know that I've inspired them," Lorena says. "I'm not going to take the credit for that. But I'm glad they came forward."

The National Kidney Foundation gives Lorena all the credit for the unprecedented number of altruistic kidney donations in the state. Today, Lorena is in Baltimore to receive the top national award from the foundation — the "Making Lives Better" award.

Lorena knew she was being honored. She didn't know she was being singled out as the one person across the nation who has done the most to impact lives and uphold the mission statement of the Kidney Foundation.

Lorena, who has two sons in their 20s and a daughter who's 10, had long been involved in helping local charities, usually with fund raising. She volunteered, was a Big Sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawai'i, but wanted to do more. It was her doctor, David Toeller, who gave her the idea of giving a kidney.

"He said, 'Why wait until you're dead? Why not do something while you're alive?' And I said, well, I give blood. And he said, 'You've got two great kidneys.'"

And she knew so many people with renal disease and kidney failure due to diabetes. Lorena had a clean bill of health. It just felt like the right thing to do.

When her beloved Dr. Toeller died in a hiking accident in December 2001, Lorena decided her kidney donation would be a tribute to him — "an amazing man" who "truly lived life to the fullest."

And now, thanks to Lorena, there's another man who is able to live life to the fullest. As fate would have it, Lorena's kidney was a perfect match for a man who also lives on Maui. Eddie Ralar, chef at the Ritz Carlton, used to undergo five hours of dialysis three times a week since his kidneys failed after cancer treatment. Doctors estimate the odds of finding a kidney from a stranger that is a perfect match are 1-in-10,000. Eddie called Lorena his angel.

"To see the quality of Eddie's life now," Lorena says, "the first day we met him, he didn't look so good. Now, we're like, eh, you looking a little bit too happy. Gotta' watch the weight!"

Lorena can joke that way with Eddie because, she says, "He's family. I got a whole new family now."

For more information on becoming a kidney donor, call the Hawai'i office of the foundation at 593-1515 or e-mail julie@kidneyhi.org.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.