LUCKY THEY WEREN'T PLAYING HEARTS:

Friend pays off card game "bet" decade later (KATIE PRINCE, 5/03/06, Scanton Times-Tribune)

Ten years ago, Heather Randall wagered her kidney in a friendly game of pinochle with best friend Kim Huegel, who suffers from a rare kidney disease.

It was a joke and Ms. Randall didn’t think too much about it. Ms. Huegel’s health improved and she went on to have a daughter.

Last year, Ms. Huegel took a turn for the worse and began dialysis in December. Two weeks ago, Ms. Randall made good on her bet when the two women underwent transplant surgery at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville.

“I always said, ‘I’m not sharing my parts with anyone,’” said Ms. Randall. She is not an organ donor on her license and is squeamish at the sight of blood.