Local newspaper story reunites friends — and helps save a photographer’s life

A November TribLive article about former Tribune-Review photographer Barry Reeger’s search for a kidney donor reached someone he had not spoken with in nearly a decade. Jason Plotkin, a fellow photographer who had worked alongside Reeger at Penn State football games for approximately 20 years, read the story and immediately volunteered to become his living donor.

Plotkin proved to be a match, and the transplant was completed April 24 at UPMC Montefiore. Reeger, who had previously undergone eight hours of dialysis each night, is now returning to his photography work. Their remarkable reunion demonstrates the very real impact local journalism can have: A newspaper story did more than inform its community — it reconnected two longtime friends and helped save a life.

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