An hour from death’s door, little did Theo Alano know that a stranger’s unexpected kindness would save his life
From being a platform for spreading misinformation and hate to bringing bullying closer to home, the various negative aspects of social media have taken over the headlines in recent memory. But, for everything that can be said about it, social media at its core remains a tool for good.
Theo Alano was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)—the last step of complete kidney failure—and needed an urgent kidney transplant. However, without any donors available, and quite literally an hour from death’s door, he turned to social media for help. Little did he know that a stranger’s unexpected kindness would save his life.
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Alano, based in New York City, is a Filipino American freelance creative director who has previously worked with fashion brands Jimmy Choo and Ralph Lauren. In October 2022, Alano was brought to the hospital because of a case of internal bleeding that was so severe that he required five blood transfusions. However, it was during that visit that it was discovered he also had ESRD.
In March 2023, his affliction reached its worst when he was admitted to the ICU and was estimated to be an hour away from organ failure. “I was immediately put on dialysis—a grueling three days a week, four hours each session,” shares Alano.
“When I found out I needed a kidney transplant, I knew I had to find my own donor because the wait time in New York is approximately 8 to 10 years. There was no way I was going to be able to endure going to dialysis for that long.”
Alano would eventually find his donor in Dec. 2023 after posting about his condition on Instagram. Though many friends helped in spreading the word, it was Mark Iacono, owner of Brooklyn pizzeria Lucali, who shared Alano’s situation on his IG Stories and subsequently led him to his eventual savior.
“In the 24 hours that an IG Story lasts, a gentleman named Rusty Rastello reached out and decided he wanted to help me.”
“While I spent six months trying to get approved for a transplant, Rusty also went through six months of testing to be approved as a living donor,” Alano says “We found out that he was approved at the beginning of June 2024. He was also the perfect blood match—O+, which is not a universal blood type.”
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“First, I thought about my uncle, who was like a father to me growing up. And he actually had donated a kidney to his brother. And then I had this idea about myself, that if I was faced with the idea of a burning building, that I would run inside to help save somebody, Rastello shared with Good Morning America as he recounts his decision to donate to Alano.
The transplant was scheduled for Aug. 7, 2024 at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and as of today, remains an overwhelming success.
Roughly four months since the successful transplant and a couple of days before the end of the year, we caught up with Alano to talk about life since his recovery.
It’s been a couple of months since the surgery. How are you feeling?
I’m approximately four months post-transplant and my body has accepted the kidney well. In about eight months or so I will be able to travel internationally, and the Philippines is really high on my list since I haven’t been back in six years. I miss all of my dear friends and relatives there.
What is one thing you took for granted that you no longer do?
I once thought that nothing could happen to me, that I was invincible. Now I realize that you just never know what the future will bring you. I now try to focus my time and energy on things that are really important to me—such as good friends and family. Material things are also less important now because my near-death experience made me realize you can’t take anything with you once you pass.
What has this experience taught you?
I was given the opportunity to ‘restart’ my life, which we never get to do—mostly because life is such a rat race that we’re all constantly caught up in it. We always need to be at the coolest parties and hang out with the trendiest people—I am so grateful that I can say that I got to refocus my energy on what’s important to me.
What’s next for you?
I’m not entirely sure. I will continue to do advocacy work for people like me who need kidney transplants but also emphasize the importance of living organ donors and how they can help save a life. As my donor said, “I just donated something that I don’t really need now.” That kindness and compassion really put faith back in humanity.