The Press in Ohio | A kidney as a gift

Journalists must maintain a healthy distance from the organizations they cover. However, some stories break down these ethical barriers. This is the case of Aaron Portzline, a journalist who has covered the Columbus Blue Jackets for a quarter of a century. He needed a kidney and a Jackets employee gave him one. This is their story.

(Columbus) The request to colleague Aaron Portzline was not the most tempting. “Aaron, do you have time to meet this weekend for an interview?” »

You have to understand that Portzline – Porty, as we know him around here – covers the Blue Jackets for The Athletic. He attends all the practices, all the home games, sometimes goes on the road. On Saturday, the Jackets played in Philadelphia, but he was watching that game from home. However, after three months of covering the marathon that is an NHL season, in the middle of the holiday season, our man undoubtedly has better things to do than come and tell his life story to a colleague from Montreal.

Portzline did not come alone. Lindy Noel was with him. The 35-year-old has worked for the Blue Jackets for four years. She is recently engaged, she loves walking with her dog, and she is enjoying a Saturday off since she is not traveling with the team. She also falls into the category of people who have no trouble finding a Saturday off.

The two still took two hours to sit down with The Press to tell their story. Because their cause, organ donation, is more important than many things. It is this cause that allowed Portzline to regain quality of life.

Despite her unusual last name, Lindy Noel is in no way related to Claude Noël, coach of the Blue Jackets from 2007 to 2010. She is a girl from Illinois, who worked for the St. Louis Blues before to end up here.

As a corporate communications specialist, she handles everything the Jackets do in the community. “Technically, I don’t work with Porty on a daily basis. Sometimes I help in press briefings, I give him the microphone. But I don’t manage the interviews with the players,” she says, sitting across from Portzline in the industrial setting of North Market.

Without having to deal with Portzline, she quickly understood what he meant to Columbus hockey fans during a date she hoped would be romantic. “I like to tell this story in front of Porty, to boost her self-esteem,” she says, laughing.

“So I tell the guy what I do for a living and he goes, ‘Oh! my God ! Do you know Aaron Portzline?” And he went off for 10 minutes telling me what a good journalist he is.

“We didn’t have any other meetings!” », she adds, laughing.

Portzline has covered the Jackets since they joined the NHL. Some of its exclusives went beyond the limits of its market, for example the improbable story of the bankruptcy of defender Jack Johnson, who had been cheated by his parents.

Portzline inherited a genetic disease, polycystic kidney disease, “the most common inherited kidney disease and a leading cause of end-stage renal disease,” reads a document from the Kidney Foundation.

Sooner or later, a kidney transplant was going to be necessary. “The ideal is to do the transplant before needing dialysis, because dialysis is very hard on the body,” recalls the D^re Caroline Lamarche, nephrologist specializing in transplantation at Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital.

In August 2023, Portzline's health worsened. He had already launched his search for a donor, but as his disease is hereditary, his immediate family was excluded from the list of candidates. Dialysis then begins, “three times a week, four hours each time. I would leave at 4 a.m., treatment would start at 5 a.m. and then I would cover training. »

The search process is cumbersome. The blood groups must be compatible, and the donor must be in good health to live with only one kidney. “Here, when one potential donor begins the process, the others wait,” Portzline explains. So you think you have a donor, and then it doesn't work out, and you start again. I was starting to run out of options. »

The liver and kidney are the only organs that can be donated by a living person. The advantages are numerous.

“A transplant from a living donor has a much better chance of success. These grafts are of better quality and last longer,” underlines the D^re Lamarche, also clinical associate professor at the University of Montreal. “It’s also simpler, because it can be planned. If the organ comes from a dead person, you don't know when you're going to get the call. The living transplant also allows for a shorter hospitalization. »

Blood group compatibility necessarily constitutes one of the obstacles. To remedy this, in Canada, the cross-kidney donation program was established. “If you want to donate a kidney to your partner, but you are not compatible, we will try to make pairs. Another man gives to your wife and you give to his wife. Sometimes, the chains start from altruistic donors, donors who have no recipient,” describes the D^re Lamarche.

In October 2023, Portzline publishes an appeal to all on X. The answers are immediate. A colleague from Nashville, Jim Diamond, even made it to the final stages, only to be rejected due to an abnormality in his arteries.

Lindy Noel sees this message coming through. After discussion with her fiancé, she takes the plunge, even though she doesn't yet know if she wants to start a family. “At 35, it would already be a geriatric pregnancy and losing a kidney increases my level of risk,” she concedes. But I didn't want to deprive myself just in case we decided to have some. We just said to ourselves that we would adopt if it was a problem. »

The procedures are successful, they are compatible, no need for a chain of cross-donations.

A month before the transplant, Noel is approved as a donor, but Portzline does not know the identity of the person who will give her a kidney. The process is opaque at this point.

On March 26, the scribe published, on the orders of his superior, an article on the historic failures of the Blue Jackets, a team which reached the second round of the playoffs only once in 24 seasons.

“He would write things like: They didn't draft this player and look what he became. I hadn't read it, but my fiancé had. He comes to see me: “Porty doesn’t know yet that you’re the donor, does she?” The next day, I had to tell him! “, says Noel, laughing.

This bit is interesting because their story highlights the gray areas in the relationship between a journalist and the organizations they cover.

“I contacted my employer to ask if I had a conflict of interest,” assures Portzline. If the answer had been yes, I would have resigned. »

“He needed a kidney more than the job!” », adds Noel.

“His response was: my God, I had never thought of that, I don't know if it's mentioned in our guide! But he called me back 20 minutes later, it was okay. Since I don't compose directly with Lindy, it makes things easier. »

April 26, 2024 is the big operation. Two days later, Lindy Noel will come home. In four weeks, she will return to work. “My blood pressure is good, I feel good. I often joke that if it wasn't for the scar, I wouldn't remember it! », describes Noel.

His main change in his lifestyle habits: reducing sodium in his diet, “which we all should do”.

Portzline is also doing very well. He will have to take medication for the rest of his life, wear a mask on planes because his immune system is weakened, and avoid sushi, blue cheese and some mushrooms. “At my six-month follow-up, my doctor's main question was: can Yegor Chinakhov continue like this? “, he said jokingly.

“The hardest part is not giving Lindy a hug when we get to the arena. But she and her fiancé are coming to our house over the holidays, and I'm going to attend their wedding in June. »

“We are linked for life,” adds Noel. I'm glad I did it. His wife and daughter are very grateful and I have become close to them. I had never had surgery before, not even for my wisdom teeth. It's easy to be afraid, so I'm proud I did it. I still have moments where I look at my scar and think: I can't believe I did that! But my fiancé and I have been through a lot in the last year and it has allowed us to learn how to deal with difficult situations. I wouldn't change anything at all. »