Twin Brothers Share a Faith and a Kidney

Two brothers knew one day having a twin would pay off and it did Thursday when one gave the other a life-saving kidney transplant

Geoff and Greg Gackle were born two minutes apart and have been inseparable for 30 years.

They went to school together, graduated from the same college, and work at the same place.

But on Thursday, the two shared something they only joked about when they were kids.

An organ.
 
“It was a no-brainer for me,” said Greg, who is giving Geoff his kidney in a life-saving operation for his brother. “We used to joke that it’s good to have a twin because you always have a spare organ.”
 
Both men are recovering from surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital in side-by-side operating rooms.
 
University of Miami surgeons removed Greg’s left kidney and transplanted it into Geoff, who suffered from the same debilitating kidney disease as former Heat great Alonzo Mourning.
 
The fact this happened during Holy Week makes it even more significant for the Gackle family.
 
Both Greg and Geoff work at University Baptist Church in Coral Gables.
 
But instead of preparing for Easter service, the brothers will be on the mend. And that suits them just fine.
 
“No greater love has a man than to lay down his life for a friend," Greg Gackle said. "So to journey through these last couple of months and to see how God has taught me that lesson, I am overjoyed to be in this situation where I can identify with that.”
 
With their connection now deeper, the twins plan on using their experience to further a message of unselfishness and to encourage others to be living organ donors.
 
They have set up twitter accounts to give people up-to-the minute updates on their progress and a blog that catalogs the life-altering events of the past few months.
 
“When we talked about it he’d be like, ‘I know you would do the same for me,’” Geoff said. “And I would.”
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