Kevin Roberson & Iris Resto

Kevin Roberson and Iris Resto are in love. They became engaged one year ago. They go on vacations and adventures in their free time, and love taking advantage of all NYC has to offer, such as the Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo. What’s different about this fabulous couple? They are both kidney patients, who met through their activism. Kevin has been a peritoneal dialysis patient at Rogosin’s West Side Center for two years and is in the process of getting on the transplant list. He says PD allows him to live a full life, including work. “If you can operate a cell phone, you can do PD.”

Iris has polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and received a transplant in 2007.

They first met as volunteers at the LiveOnNY table at the NYC Google office, which was hosting a blood drive. They continued to cross paths at various LiveOnNY events, including one at Columbia University where together they encouraged 18 people to register as organ donors. After each of these events, Kevin would walk Iris to the train (her sense of direction is not great), and they started to feel a real connection. They “officially” became a couple in May 2015, though they debate which walks to the train became the turning point!

Together, they can face challenges as they come. They have a deep understanding of what each one is going through on a daily basis, and what their needs are. They know how to care for each other and be flexible depending on how everyone is feeling.

Both Kevin and Iris consider themselves profoundly lucky for the positivity, support, and love they have found in one another. They say that, ironically, if not for their individual struggles, they would have never met!

To learn more about PD, click here. To register as an organ donor, visit https://www.liveonny.org.