03/06/09: BCC’s Mike LoCurto Kidney Transplant Gift From the Heart From His Sweetheart

Original YNN Buffalo Air Date: 03/25/09
Councilman Michael LoCurto says he owes his life to the love-of his-life—his girlfriend Kate Foster.
Locurto underwent a heart and liver transplant back in 1996 as a result of a blood disorder he was diagnosed with as an infant called thalassemia.
As he recovered from the surgery, his kidneys never quite returned to normal. Doctors diagnosed Locurto with end renal disease.
Locurto worked that job while running for election to common council’s Delaware district seat.
Nearly one in eight people in America can be at risk of kidney disease. That’s one in seven here in Western New York due to the region’s high rates for diabetes and hypertension. They’re two of the leading causes of kidney disease.
Kidney advocates say Locutro’s love story sends the message that almost anyone can donate to save a life.
Locurto’s love and kidney connection with Kate helped him heal after surgery.