After a year, Arizona boy finally meets donor for a kidney transplant

An 11-year-old boy from Winslow has been waiting a long time for a kidney transplant. Now, he has just met his living donor. FOX 10's Justin Lum reports.

PHOENIX - It's been a long wait for Tristan Black, a 11-year-old boy from Winslow who has been on the national organ transplant waiting list since March 2020.

Tristan has a rare disease known as midaortic syndrome, a condition that impacts the heart's largest blood vessel and causes poor kidney function.

Last week, his family received some life-changing news.

"His first request when we told him he was getting a new kidney and wasn't going to have to be connected to a machine every night was to be able to camp out on the trampoline," said Sierra Kolomitz, Tristan's mother. "So it's like that's the most innocent thing to want."

Before the big day, Tristan met his living donor. Harmony Wells is from the same town, and she say she felt a calling to do this.

"I've known and felt in the deepest part of my soul that this was just going to be, and I needed to do whatever it takes to get tested," Wells said.

Now, Tristan and Harmony will share a bond for life.

"I feel nervous for her as well and as I do for him, but we can't thank her enough," said Bobby Kolomitz. "It's unreal."

The family is thankful for a step towards a new childhood.

"He's excited to be able to go back to real school and see his friends and have a normal life," his mother said.

On June 1, Harmony will undergo surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital. Currently, Tristan is checked in at Phoenix Children's Hospital, where he will wait for the transplant.