Priest gets kidney from principal -- and love, support, prayers from parishes, students

Father Emmanuel "Manny" Torres, associate pastor at Christ the King Church in Little Rock and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Little Italy, got a phone call in early September that he had been hoping for for years -- they found a match for his kidney transplant.

But when he found out who the donor was, he couldn't believe it -- it was the school principal, Jillian Whisnant.

Father Torres, 39, who was ordained in 2021, has faced kidney issues since he was young. He moved to Arkansas with his family from Mexico when he was 12.

"I knew I was sick -- I've had kidney problems since I was young … but the doctor had said everything was fine," he told Arkansas Catholic, the news outlet of the Diocese of Little Rock, in a January interview. "When I became a seminarian, they did a physical exam, and they noticed that my kidneys had a lot of protein.

"So they checked my kidneys, and they were in stage three kidney failure in 2010. Two years ago, they told me that my kidneys had been declining and that in three or five years, I would need a transplant."

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor appointed Father Torres to Christ the King in late 2024 so that he could continue to undergo dialysis and other treatments until he could find a kidney transplant donor. His diagnosis was made public in September 2024, and parishioners across central Arkansas began to come forward, offering the priest their own support -- whether it was food, prayers or their own kidney.

"We were made aware in about May that he was going to be eligible for a donor," said Whisnant, who was promoted to principal in August. "I called the number that was available, and one step led to another, and I found out I was a match."

For a successful living-donor kidney transplant, medical professionals must assess blood and tissue compatibility between the donor and recipient. With a compatible match, the recipient's immune system is less likely to attack the new kidney, mistaking it for a threat or a foreign virus.

Doctors will often perform a test in advance, mixing the donor's cells with the recipient's blood to see whether anything in the recipient's system will attack them. If all of these tests pass and the donor meets medical criteria, the two are considered a match.

It's significantly more likely for family members and relatives to be a match than someone unrelated to you. A match like Father Torres and Whisnant's match is rare but still medically possible.
"I had to be a match, and I had to be healthy enough and fit all the criteria to give," Whisnant said.

She found out the day before Father Torres did that she was his match.

"I told my husband, and I talked about it with him, but I hadn't told anyone else. I didn't know how I was going to tell you," Whisnant said to Father Torres as she sat across from him in her office Dec. 9, the day before the surgery. "I was waiting for them to tell you before I said anything. Then, when I saw him, I saw the huge smile on his face, and it just came out. I had to join in with his joy."

Father Torres recalled when he was told he had a match and about finding out who his donor was.
"I was in the sacristy with Deacon Christopher Elser. I was finishing a school Mass, and I told him, 'Oh, you're the first person to know that I have a match,'" he said with a laugh. "I didn't know who the donor was. They didn't tell me. … So the first thing I did was come over to the school, and I was coming through here, and the first person I saw was Jillian. I told her, 'I received the call, but don't know who the donor is.' And Jillian said, 'It's me, Father.' I said, 'What?!' I couldn't believe it."

The transplant was completed Dec. 10 at University of Arkansas for Medical Services.

"I am happy to share that both Fr. Manny's and Mrs. Whisnant's surgeries went well," pastor Father Juan Guido shared in an update with fellow priests and diocesan staff that afternoon.
he wrote. "Thank you for all your prayers and support. As they begin their recovery, please continue to keep them both in your prayers."

Whisnant said she is thankful that she gets to play a part in Father Torres' health journey.

"I was just very glad that I was healthy enough to donate and that I was a match," the wife and mother of four said, adding that being a donor had "no downside for me, other than missing a couple of days of work" and having to follow a lifting restriction for a couple of weeks.

Father Torres' recovery will be a little more involved. He will be "on medical leave for three months," he said. The priest also noted that after a transplant, "the first six weeks are the most critical ones."

All things considered, Father Torres said he was feeling "very grateful" and that he never expected "this much love from the community, and for Jillian, of course, the huge sacrifice she is making. I feel loved by the community, even though they don't know me that well, because I've only been here a year. So I see God's love through them, and I'm very, very, very grateful."

The outpouring of love, support and prayers from his former parishes -- St. Theresa Church in Little Rock, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Marche and St. Mary Church in North Little Rock -- along with his current parish, has moved him and encouraged him.

Ahead of the surgery, "almost 650 kids" prayed the rosary for the priest and the principal, which made Father Torres cry. "I feel loved," he said.