Veteran ABC News correspondent Jim Avila is now home recovering from kidney transplant surgery. His brother Jaie Avila, a San Antonio TV news reporter, was his donor.
On April 10, the night before undergoing the procedure at Los Angeles’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Avila told TVNewser that due to diabetes-related kidney failure, he was in a “big race” to find an organ donor. The only other option was to begin dialysis – “and that was a non-starter for me,” Avila said. It turns out Jaie was a match. “Jaie has given me an unbelievable gift,” Avila said.
Jim and Jaie left checked out of Cedars-Sinai last Tuesday. And last night, Jim tweeted his appreciation of his brother, and this video of them leaving the hospital:
To all the kind souls who have us in their thoughts. We are home and recovering. Jaie has given me new life and I plan to spend it well. https://t.co/OqRtxyFOn6
— Jim Avila (@JimAvilaABC) April 23, 2018