ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Mo. – Two St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office employees – Sergeant Devin Young and Detective Chris Jones – are now bonded for life after a kidney donation.

Sergeant Devin Young found out he had kidney failure in May of 2022.

“I always had in the back of my head that it was going to possibly come because it’s hereditary,” Young said. “it was pretty devastating at the same time, just hoping it wouldn’t happen to me but it did.”

Young started dialysis in July while continuing work at the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.

“[Dialysis] helped a little bit, but it’s been pretty rough,” Young said. “I’ve been tired a lot. Waking up with morning sickness. Sometimes I’ve just kind of go throughout my days and it’s just kind of tiring and rough.”

For Young’s girlfriend Kaitlyn Coleman, she said it’s been rough to see Young in so much pain.

“It’s really difficult for him,” Coleman said. “[It’s] just go to work, come home to dialysis, and go to bed. I just try to help him emotionally and physically as much as possible, and then just try to be good moral support and everything.”

Young has had support from all over, especially from his friend and co-worker Detective Chris Jones.

“I was his best man for his wedding,” Young said. “I knew him before I was in law enforcement. My uncle married his mother.”

“The minute we found out about his diagnosis, [Jones] was like, ecstatic to try to help and figure out how he could best help [Young],” Coleman said.

Jones decided to see if his kidney was a match for Young’s towards the end of 2022. In December, he found out the results.

“[Jones] got the call while he was at work,” Jones’ wife Allissa said. “He was actually standing right next to [Young]. So that was really exciting that they were right there together to be able to share that news.”

The transplant happened on February 7, 2023. But, preparation started earlier for Jones.

“He had to change his diet,” Allissa said. “He had to be on some cholesterol and cholesterol medication and he had to stop chewing. So that was a pretty big dedication because he’d been chewing for a long time and he just quit cold turkey to be able to donate his kidney.”

Both are recovering well following the surgery, even with some complications.

“[Jones] had a hole in his diaphragm,” Allissa said. “So they called me and said either they have to stop the transplant surgery or they have to fix that hole. When they opened him up, they inflated his stomach, which put air through that hole when it collapsed his lungs so he had to have a chest tube. They went ahead and fixed that hole and they took the kidney out.”

Jones was released from the hospital on Friday. Young is expected to be released this weekend.

“All my levels are down and my kidneys function really well,” Young said. “I have a little trouble still getting out of bed and getting walking around. But, once I get past that, it will be just taking medication and back to normal life.”

Young will be on bed-rest for six weeks once he gets home. But, he is excited to get back to work once he’s feeling better.