Nov. 13 is a special day for Alex Batenko. For the 59-year-old father of three, it's a date he started a new lease on life -- twice.

Twenty-eight years ago on that date, Batenko immigrated to the United States from Russia.

And last Nov. 13, he underwent transplant surgery for a new kidney.

"Both times, it was a chance to start my life over," he said.

Batenko, who now lives in Chicago, spoke by phone from a Pennsylvania hotel room, an evening pit-stop during his solo drive home from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, where the transplant took place.

He just had his final post-surgery checkup Dec. 10 and was cleared to journey home.

Batenko said his kidney problems developed as a 9-year-old boy in Ukraine. On his way home after buying sugar for his mom, Batenko suffered serious injuries after falling off his bike. His spleen had to be removed, and one of his kidneys was damaged.

"The doctors never touched the kidney, and it got worse," he said.

"It eventually affected the other kidney."

At age 25 Batenko had one kidney removed in a Moscow hospital. Five years later, he came to this country where he started a family and worked in electronics and computer repair.

Batenko's remaining kidney began developing problems when he turned 52, eventually leading to dialysis and the need for a transplant.

Nearly four years ago his daughter discovered MatchingDonors.com, a Web site launched in 2004 as an Internet service based in Massachusetts.

Patients on transplant lists put their profiles on the Web site, and potential donors browse the site for a life "they want to save."

Donors are not compensated, since it is against the law to have any financial benefit from organ donation.

Batenko placed a profile on the site, which more than 8,000 people viewed, 100 of whom offered to become his donor.

After a lengthy testing process, a fit was found in a 27-year-old man from Michigan, himself an immigrant to the United States (from Zimbabwe, Africa).

"He's become to me like a son," Batenko said, describing his donor.

"You meet someone like this man once in a million years. Because of him, I believe I'll be able to see my children grow."

Upon returning to Chicago, Batenko first will visit his 78-year-old mother, who immigrated to Chicago 15 years after her son.

Then he'll reunite with his daughter, 28 (who, with her husband, recently gave Batenko a grandson), and finally his own two boys, ages 14 and 9.

"I feel good," Batenko said.

Not all doctors and hospitals support Matching Donors, believing it is unethical for donors to search online for someone to help.

Batenko doesn't agree.

"I don't know why they are against it," he said.

"If I were still in Russia, I'd be dead by now. People need to know about this Web site."

Dr. Jeremiah Lowney, one of the MatchingDonors.com founders, said patients are asked to pay a membership fee, but that there is a sliding scale if they can't afford it.

Additionally, patients can get a lifetime membership for $25 a month.

Batenko said during the nearly four years he listed his profile on the Web site, he paid a total of $350.

For him, it was well worth the price of that second lease on life, he said.