When Emmet Davitt, 50, volunteered to donate his kidney to a fellow Catonsville resident, he had no idea he would be part of a cutting edge transplant program involving eight patients that spanned four states.

On Nov. 2 and 3, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore performed its first multiple kidney swap -- a procedure that allows donors who are incompatible with loved ones who need a kidney to donate a kidney to another patient, making friends and family members eligible for kidney transplants from an another donor.

"I have been a very lucky man in my life, always very healthy," said Davitt, deputy general counsel for the Maryland Public Service Commission. "I've often thought that it would be nice to be able to do something like this."

The events that led to Davitt's involvement began about five years ago when his wife, Julie, who worked in banking before she had children, became a special-needs aide at Hillcrest Elementary School on Frederick Road.

She was paired with Sean Menard, then a kindergarten student whom the Davitts said was exceptionally sweet and affectionate despite his debilitating battle with kidney disease.

Sean was born with polycystic kidney disease, and had one of his kidneys removed when he was an infant.

Julie Davitt later learned that Sean was on the verge of dialysis. She had maintained contact with Sean, who is now 10, and his parents, Michael and Jeannie; the youngest of the Davitts' four children also attends Hillcrest, and both families are members of St. Mark's Church on Melvin Avenue.

About two years ago, Julie Davitt told her husband that she wanted to donate one of her kidneys to Sean. The Menards had adopted Sean, and neither was a viable match.

"At the time, of course, I was a little apprehensive about it. I mean, that's my wife and the mother of my four children," said Emmet Davitt, whose children range in age from 10 to 16.

When tests revealed that his wife was not an eligible kidney donor, he decided to "step up" and get tested as well.

He had gotten to know Sean over the years, he said, and thought he was a "neat little kid."

"I'd be at the school, and all of a sudden I'd feel someone wrap their arms around my legs," he said. "The first few times I jumped, but eventually I knew it was Sean."

Although his blood type made him ineligible to give a kidney to Sean, he was still a viable donor. Then he learned that if he gave his kidney to someone else, Sean would be guaranteed to receive a healthy kidney from a different donor.

Dr. Matthew Cooper, director of kidney transplantation at the medical center, said about 82,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney transplant.

He said there had been discussions of starting a multiple kidney swap at the center for some time.

Last spring, a Westborough, Mass., resident got the ball rolling.

Edward Behn, 59, approached doctors at the center after losing his best friend to kidney disease. He had heard that the University of Maryland Medical Center had a reputable kidney transplant program, and wanted to donate one of his kidneys.Cooper said that multiple kidney swaps, which are done at about 25 other medical centers around the country, help reduce the number of kidney transplants from non-living donors -- procedures that are usually less successful.

"The outcomes for living donor transplants are better," he said. "Kidneys taken from cadavers usually last about nine years, whereas those taken from living donors can last about 18 or 19 years."

Orchestrating the matches took some time, Cooper said, but eventually the center was able to plan for a four-way transplant.

Behn gave his kidney to a Maryland man, who wished to remain anonymous; the man's family friend, a Maryland woman who also wanted to remain anonymous, donated a kidney to Sean; Emmet Davitt's kidney went to Carl Lichtman, 64, of Lake Worth, Fla.; and Carl's wife, Stacey, 60, donated a kidney to 74-year-old Bob Loudermilk of Virginia Beach, Va.

Cooper said that all of the transplants seemed to be working out fine as of Nov. 11.

He said the transplants were done through the belly button, a technique used by only two other medical centers in the country.

He said this method reduces pain, scarring and recovery time.

The medical center has performed about 1,400 kidney transplants using small abdominal holes, rather than large incisions; more than any other center in the world, Cooper said.

Although Davitt said there was some discomfort following the surgery, he was able to return to work on Nov. 12.

Jeannie Menard said Sean is still recovering, but could be released from the hospital soon.

She said his color has already improved since the surgery.

"He was just getting tireder and tireder, and weaker and weaker," she said. "I feel that Emmet gave him life."

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