An associate at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola donates kidney to stranger

After enduring end-stage kidney disease for nearly five years, retired Escambia County Sheriff Deputy Rudy Brown felt like he was running out of time. In search of a lifeline, he appeared on a local news program to make a plea to the Pensacola, Florida, community he protected and served for more than 20 years.

Fortunately for him, Doyle Carpenter was watching that day and answered the call.

“I was immediately drawn to his story,” said Dolye, an anesthesia technician at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola. “As a former EMT, his situation struck a chord with me, especially after all his years of service.”

Rudy said working in law enforcement was a physically demanding job that presented its own challenges. However, those challenges didn’t compare to the health battles he has faced over the years, including liver failure and skin cancer. In 2018, Rudy underwent a liver transplant that caused significant blood loss.

“I bled out twice during the surgery, which caused my kidneys to stop working for a week,” he said. “When they started working again, it was only at 20 percent. They are now below 5 percent.”

After watching Rudy’s interview last summer on WEAR-TV, Doyle took the first step by reaching out to him on social media. Over several months, they bonded over their shared faith.

“I felt like it was something I was called to do,” Doyle said. “I took a compatibility test and learned we were a perfect match.”

Finding a perfect kidney match with a stranger is extremely rare, with the odds estimated to be around 1 in 100,000. So is becoming an altruistic donor, with only 300 to 400 Americans each year choosing to donate a kidney to someone they don't know.

Rudy said many people at his church were tested, but were not suitable candidates. 

"When Doyle told me he was going to get tested, I appreciated it but didn’t expect much to come of it," he said. "But when he called back saying he was a match and still wanted to donate, I saw the Lord's fingerprints all over this miracle."

Although they’ve talked many times, Doyle and Rudy finally met in person on the same program where Rudy asked for the community’s help. “Rudy smiled so much; it made me so happy,” Doyle said.

As the surgery day draws near, Doyle said he’s not scared or nervous. “I’ve had so many chances to walk away but this was God’s plan,” he said.

Organ donations make Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Kidney Transplant Program possible. As the only kidney transplant program in Northwest Florida, we serve communities across the Florida Panhandle and Gulf Coast. The selfless act of kidney donation through our program has already helped 162 people in the region. For more information on being a living donor, visit the Kidney Transplant page or call (850) 416-0278.