When Rose Hirsch, CAS ’72, and Nick Vitale, CAS ’83, met in Vandenberg’s dining hall in 1968 fresh out of high school, they didn’t know their friendship would result in a lifesaving gift 54 years later. Their time at OU forged fixed bonds between them and a group of classmates, also resulting in Hirsch and Vitale meeting their spouses.

1968 | Rose de Vera (Hirsch) pictured far right at Hamlin Hall with roommates Judi Moreillon and Susie Keenan	1970 | Left to right: Sarah Lindberg, David Franzblau, Nick Vitale, Susie Keenan and Pat Steele in Vandenberg

Although some moved away after graduation, the connections remained throughout the years. At the start of the pandemic, the group began regularly meeting on Zoom, naming their group chats the “OU Kids.”

1987 | “OU Kids” reunion at Rose and Henry’s house, left to right: Nick Vitale, Judi Moreillon, Susie Keenan-Bolger, Mark Silverberg, Henry Hirsch, Rose Hirsch

“By 2021, Rose was appearing less and less on the Zoom calls,” Vitale, who lives in Arizona, says. The “OU Kids” virtual hangouts were scheduled for late afternoons to accommodate those living in different time zones — too late for Hirsch, who was suffering from kidney failure and exhausted from her daily home dialysis. In early summer, Hirsch’s husband Henry, CAS ’73, shared with his college friends his wife’s health prognosis and the fact she was on a transplant waiting list.

Vitale and his wife Judi instantly knew they wanted to help. After initial testing revealed that Vitale was a possible match based on his blood type, it was followed by nine months of research, extensive medical tests and virtual meetings with the transplant team at Beaumont’s (now Corewell) Multi-Organ Transplant Center. Originally a decision made in a heartbeat, Vitale never doubted his commitment but grew increasingly concerned that a medical test late in the game would exclude him from becoming a donor. “The hardest part of it all was not being able to say anything to Rose and Henry,” says Vitale, who had been advised by the hospital not to share his intentions.

2022 | Vitale and Hirsch one day after the kidney transplant

His worries were unfounded, though. In February 2022, Vitale got the call that he was a match. Shortly after, the transplant nurse coordinator shared Vitale’s long-awaited news with Hirsch. As Hirsch recalls, “She said, ‘Rose, you have a donor.’ And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s amazing.’ And she said, ‘And you know who it is!’ It was Nick and I couldn’t believe he would do something like this, knowing all of the procedures involved.”

2022 | Vitale, his wife Judi (Moreillon) with Hirsch and her husband Henry a week after the kidney transplant surgeries

Vitale and his wife traveled to Michigan in April 2022 for the lifesaving transplant. Surrounded by their support system of spouses and OU friends — and expertly guided by the Beaumont medical team — the surgery was a success. While Vitale’s recovery took longer because of complications stemming from prior surgeries, his donated kidney started working immediately and Hirsch felt better right away. “I almost had a party in my room the day after,” she says. “Everything was bright and not foggy anymore.”

Laughing, Vitale adds, “Judi and I have this theory that my kidney thinks it died and went to heaven. It’s in the body of a natural-food-loving, careful person and out of mine, so it’s just happy as a clam.”

Their friendship flourished further than their original OU ties, with both of Vitale and Hirsch’s surgeons, Steven Cohn, M.D., and Krishna Putchakayala, M.D., being OUWB faculty. Vitale’s transplant nurse coordinator and nurse anesthetist noted that they were also OU graduates, which gave Vitale added peace of mind. “I remember my feeling of calm confidence before the operation that came from the hands-on involvement of so many OU-connected health care professionals,” he says. “I went into surgery with fond memories of my campus years in the late ’60s and early ’70s, mingled with a deep appreciation for what the university has evolved to in the 21st century.”

It’s been more than two years since the operation, and Hirsch and Vitale are doing well. The careful planning and excellent guidance by their medical team made the kidney transplant an outstanding experience and they hope to encourage more people to consider kidney donation — a lifesaving gift that was made possible for them by the bonds forged at OU more than five decades ago.

2023 | “OU Kids” reunion at the Tucson Museum of Art, left to right: Judi Moreillon, Rose Hirsch, Henry Hirsch, Cheryl Green, Bill Green, Nick Vitale and Mark Silverberg