Advertise on podcast: Behind The Match

He gave a stranger a kidney. Eight days later, his recipient was gone. Would he still have made the same decision? For Rafi Appel, the answer is yes. After four years of testing, waiting, and potential matches that never materialized, Rafi finally donated his kidney in May 2026. But just eight days after surgery, his recipient passed away from unrelated complications. In this emotional conversation, Rafi opens up about the shock, sadness, and unexpected support that followed. He shares the letters that helped him find perspective, the remarkable community of living kidney donors who rallied around his family, and the realization that changed the way he understood his donation. Although his recipient lived only a short time after the transplant, the knowledge that a donor had been found had given him something precious during his final year: hope. And that gift mattered. 🎙️ Episode 8 of Behind the Match — He Only Had My Kidney for 1 Week A powerful conversation about loss, emunah, the gift of hope, and understanding that while we can control our actions, we cannot always control their outcomes.

For Aviva Breda, living kidney donation wasn’t a sudden decision. It began with a powerful moment at a Renewal event, followed by two years of thinking, learning, and preparing. In 2019, she finally donated a kidney to a man she had never met. But the experience changed far more than his life. From the unexpected people davening for her in the hospital waiting room to the emotional moment she finally met her recipient, Aviva shares a journey filled with hashgacha pratis, chessed, and extraordinary gratitude. She also speaks candidly about her slower-than-expected recovery and why, despite the challenges, she would do it again in a heartbeat. Seven years later, she still sees her donation as one of the greatest gifts of her life. 🎙️ Episode 7 of Behind the Match: He Has a Piece of Me A conversation about giving, receiving, and discovering that one decision can change the way you see the world.

When Avrohom Eliezer Friedman first contacted Renewal, he wasn’t responding to a particular person’s need. He simply wanted to help another member of Klal Yisrael. Years later, he became a pioneering kidney donor in North Miami Beach. But the story didn’t end in the operating room. With his unmistakable humor and refreshingly candid approach, Friedman shares the unexpected choices, difficult recovery, and extraordinary lessons that followed his decision to donate. He also opens up about his recipient, the growing culture of kidney donation in his community, and the powerful realization that changed how he approaches life’s most difficult moments. What if something could hurt—and still be good? In Episode 6 of Behind the Match, discover why Friedman calls his experience The Sweetest Pain.

First he donated a kidney. Years later, Renewal called his wife. Yakov and Shanni Majeski both swabbed at the same Renewal event in Baltimore—and then went back to their lives. Yakov eventually donated his kidney to a stranger. Years later, Shanni got a call she had once been told was unlikely to come: she was a match too. Together, they became Renewal’s 16th married couple in which both spouses donated kidneys. In Episode 5 of Behind the Match, the Majeskis share the fear, humor, family support and unexpected relationships behind their two donations—and how saying yes changed their family as much as it changed their recipients. Because sometimes the person giving the kidney walks away feeling like they were the recipient too.

His recipient was sitting two seats away from him. She had no idea. Days before donating his kidney, Zalmy Cohen arrived at the hospital for pre-op testing. Then he heard a name at the reception desk: Ilona. Could the woman sitting just a few feet away actually be the stranger who was about to receive his kidney? She was. And the story gets even better from there. In Episode 4 of Behind the Match, Zalmy shares his journey to living kidney donation, the life experiences that taught him to show up for others, and how giving a kidney ultimately created a bond that feels like family. It’s funny, unexpected, moving—and unmistakably Zalmy. 🎙️ Behind the Match — Episode 4 Presented by Renewal.

One man needed a kidney. His community showed up. What happened next changed far more than one life. When Alan Greene needed a kidney, his West Hempstead community organized a swab drive. Rivie Blum and her husband Avi both swabbed. Rivie matched Alan. Avi matched someone else. And according to Alan, approximately 20 transplants have now resulted from that one drive. In Episode 3 of Behind the Match, Alan and Rivie share the story of their match, the unexpected friendship between their families, and why Rivie—despite being the donor—can now say: “I feel like I was really the recipient.” A story about chessed, community, and the ripple effect of simply showing up. 🎙️ Behind the Match — Episode 3 Presented by Renewal.

Larry Barth planned to attend a Renewal swab drive. He never made it. So the next day, he called Renewal and asked them to send him a kit. That simple act of follow-through eventually led Larry to donate a kidney to a complete stranger. Pasted markdown.md In Episode 2 of Behind the Match, Larry shares what happened next: the decision he made together with his wife Ellen and their family, the experience of becoming a living kidney donor, and the unexpected relationship that developed afterward. Today, Larry and his recipient’s family share simchas, speak before Yom Tov, text every Erev Shabbos—and simply call each other family. Pasted markdown.md A conversation about following through, giving a piece of yourself, and the family you never expected to find. 🎙️ Behind the Match — Episode 2 Presented by Renewal.

Eli and Daniella Rosenberg are both 37, live in West Hempstead, New York, and are raising three children while balancing careers, family and an active role in their community. Eli works in IT, Daniella works with federal educational funding, and both share a deeply held belief in giving back and showing up when someone needs help. They just never expected that belief to lead here. In the premiere episode of Behind the Match, Eli and Daniella take us inside their family’s journey through living kidney donation. They share Eli’s remarkably simple reason for saying yes, the son who initially insisted, “Our family keeps our kidneys,” the extraordinary letters their children wrote, the unexpected connection they discovered to Eli’s recipient just days before surgery, and the emotional relationship between their two families that followed. Today, Eli even learns Torah twice a week with the man who received his kidney. And then came another twist: just two weeks after Eli’s donation, Renewal called Daniella. She was a match too. It’s an honest, funny and deeply moving conversation about generosity, fear, family, faith and the unexpected connections that can begin with one simple decision to help another person. Behind the Match — Episode 1 Presented by Renewal.

Every kidney donor has a story. Every recipient has a journey. And behind every transplant is a match that changed more than one life. Welcome to Behind the Match, the new podcast from Renewal. In each episode, we sit down with living kidney donors, transplant recipients and the people connected to their journeys for honest conversations about what really happens behind the match—from the decision to donate and the uncertainty of waiting to the emotions, relationships and extraordinary moments that follow. These are the stories that couldn’t fit into a post. Now, we’re giving them the time they deserve. 🎙️ Behind the Match Presented by Renewal Episode 1 premieres September 8. Subscribe so you don’t miss the first episode!!!