Bernie I. Citron, a partner specializing in land use in the Chicago office of Thompson Coburn, needed a kidney transplant or he was going to die—likely within a few years. While Citron, 68, was on the national transplant waitlist for a kidney donation, he asked for help from people he knew and various communities to which he belonged, including members of his law firm. To his surprise, Hope A. Watson, a 30-year-old associate in the Washington, D.C., office whom Citron had never met, offered him one of her healthy kidneys.
Apr 16, 2026 1:02 PM CDT