EHT man, former freeholder in fight of his life to find a kidney donor – Press of Atlantic City

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Former Atlantic County Freeholder and Surrogate Jim Carney is a kidney cancer survivor (1993) and has been living with one kidney since then. Type II Diabetes has caused him to have full renal failure and is on dialysis nightly. He desperately needs a living donor. Feb 9, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Former Atlantic County Freeholder and Surrogate Jim Carney is a kidney cancer survivor (1993) and has been living with one kidney since then. Type II Diabetes has caused him to have full renal failure and is on dialysis nightly. He desperately needs a living donor. Feb 9, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
James Carney has always considered himself to be a tough guy. The former Atlantic County Surrogate and member of the then Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders has also served in numerous other local, county, state and federal positions, and he has endured his share of personal and professional jabs over the years.
But now, the 76-year-old Pleasantville native and lifelong Atlantic County resident is in a fight for his life and could use a little help in his corner.
After surviving kidney cancer in 1993, Carney was down to living with one functioning kidney. But progression of Type II diabetes caused that organ to go into full renal failure, and for about the past 18 months he requires daily dialysis to stay alive. His doctors told him the only medical option open to him now is kidney transplant surgery through a living donor.
“Jim has always strived to help others throughout his life, and now he needs the help,” said Donna Tissot, a social media influencer advocating for the Carney family. “His wife and family are hopeful someone will be a match and help him return to a normal functioning life without the daily connection to the dialysis machine.”
Tissot is also a volunteer with the NJ Sharing Network, which works to increase public awareness and education about the life-saving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
The Carney family came to know of Tissot’s work from a mutual friend who suggested they enlist her help. A resident of Morris County, Tissot has spent the past several years advocating for those who need a donor by creating a personalized online kidney page and then inviting all her followers to share the information on behalf of the family.
Getting the chance to live life is a gift that everyone deserves to have, Tissot said recently through an email. She said in the past several years, her efforts have been successful in helping a number of people find donors.   
Privately, the Carney family has been trying for quite a while to find a kidney match by signing up for transplant lists and working with various hospitals. But as his condition became more dire, Carney said Tissot suggested they now expand the search and go public.
Carney has always been open and willing to talk about this medical journey. He and his wife, Jacqueline, have been married for 45 years and have three grown children, Dr. Michelle Carney-Ray, Adam Carney and Ryan Carney. And they have two grandsons, Rex and Asher.
The family has stayed supportive of all the efforts. And his church family also has been supportive, he said. Several parishioners at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Linwood, where he is a member, stepped forward for testing but ultimately didn’t make it through the vetting process. And there have been other leads that also fell through.
Carney said there are a lot of people both in his personal and professional life who probably still don’t know about the urgency of his need for a donor.
He also acknowledged that it has been a very humbling experience.  
“There are a lot of people like me, hanging in there for one reason or another, hoping to get a chance to connect with a donor, and I’m very grateful for any opportunity that presents itself,” Carney said recently in a phone interview from his Egg Harbor Township home.
He said having a healthy, functioning kidney again would allow him to resume his life to the fullest. He continues to work from home in his capacity as the director of asset acquisition and liquidations for Surplus Services Company of Northfield and as a commissioner with the New Jersey Casino Revenue Fund Advisory Commission.
But most of his time is devoted to hooking up to a machine and going through the procedure of peritoneal dialysis, a treatment for kidney failure that uses the lining of the abdomen to filter the blood inside the body through a port surgically placed in the belly.
It’s a complicated procedure of fluid exchange, but Carney said he was determined to master the at-home treatment. It was about a year ago when he was going through tests for a new port to be placed that his cardiologist informed him he needed triple bypass heart surgery. He was in the hospital for 15 days. Once released, he was back to his regimen. 
Still, he insists on staying positive. It’s an attitude that has enabled him to absorb the hard knocks of fate and keep moving forward.
He absolutely believes that every day is a new adventure.    
“I take it one day at a time. It’s part of life, you’ve got to learn how to work through things,” said Carney. “I have faith. I have the support and love of my family. I can look back over my life and say I’ve been a pretty lucky guy.”
Contact: 609-272-7295
[email protected]
If you are interested in being a living donor, contact the following hospitals:
St. Barnabas, Livingston, Essex County, at http://sbmclivingdonor.org/
Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, Jack Travis at 215-503-4045 or Jean Berte, RN, living donor coordinator, at 215-955-6486.
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Staff Writer
Coordinator of The Press’ Hometown section. More than 30 years in newspapers covering news and writing feature stories about events in and about South Jersey.
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Former Atlantic County Freeholder and Surrogate Jim Carney is a kidney cancer survivor (1993) and has been living with one kidney since then. Type II Diabetes has caused him to have full renal failure and is on dialysis nightly. He desperately needs a living donor. Feb 9, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Former Atlantic County Freeholder and Surrogate Jim Carney is a kidney cancer survivor (1993) and has been living with one kidney since then. Type II Diabetes has caused him to have full renal failure and is on dialysis nightly. He desperately needs a living donor. Feb 9, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
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