(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/22/2024) Sen. Joseph Bellino Jr. (R-Monroe) said he is “doing great” two weeks following a kidney transplant to his brother-in-law. Bellino donated his kidney to Chuck Piotrowski after he posted he needed a donor on their family Facebook page last December.   

Bellino said Piotrowski, who is married to his older sister, has been a spiritual mentor and friend to him for the past 40 years.   

“I worked with him for six years at a Catholic charity called St. Vincent de Paul Detroit. He’s just my kind of man. He’s a good guy, and even though he’s a lot more liberal than I am, I love him to death. I was happy to do what I did.”   

Bellino said that he originally was ninth on the list of potential donors for Piotrowski, but when they saw how he was performing on the tests to assess his health, he became the front-runner for the transplant quickly.   

Piotrowski is currently recovering from the transplant and is currently in isolation for three months while his body adapts to the new kidney. Bellino said that the new kidney is performing five times better than before.   

The transplant was made possible through the Living Donor Program at Henry Ford. Bellino said that the procedure did not cost a dime out of his pocket and that he urges others to consider donating their kidney if they have a loved one in need.  

“On the spiritual side, when I got sober, Chuck was there for me during the first few tough years. Not sure I would have made it without him. I got the chance to pay him back.”