Behind The Match

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!!!