GOFFSTOWN — When Wayne and Donna Perreault said their wedding vows back in 1979, they had no idea the effect the phrase “in sickness and in health” would have on their lives.

Thirty-three years later, Donna is preparing to donate one of her kidneys to her husband when they both undergo surgery scheduled for Aug. 28 at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Wayne Perreault may be familiar to many Goffstown residents as an activist who's argued in favor of increased accessibility for sidewalks and public buildings under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

A frequent writer of letters to the editor of The Goffstown News, another issue he has railed against is noise caused by Department of Public Works garbage and recycling trucks. He's also been known to take out small newspaper ads advocating for various positions he feels passionately about.

He is in end-stage renal failure and is currently on dialysis. He has been disabled for 20 years, and was on a regular regimen of ibuprofen, which resulted in scarring on his kidneys, his wife said.

“Ten years ago, they noticed a significant drop in his kidney functions,” Donna Perreault said.

Five years ago, Donna's brother-in-law had to undergo a kidney transplant, and her sister had blood drawn to see if she would be a match.

“It was in that moment that I knew that I would become Wayne's donor somehow,” Perreault said. “If there was a way to do it, I would do it.”

Doctors told the couple that simply being the same blood type was enough for her to donate.

“We didn't know that you can donate to anyone with your blood type,” Donna Perreault said. Both she and her husband are type A, which further cemented her commitment to the procedure. By last fall, Wayne Perreault was told he was sick enough to need a kidney transplant.

After “tons and tons of testing,” he was placed on a national transplant list in February.

Donna Perreault underwent testing of her own, to be sure that she was not only compatible, but healthy enough to donate her kidney.

“For a donor, the requirements are very, very strict,” she said. “They don't want the donation to make anyone sick.”

She was cleared for donation in July, just as her husband got some serious medical news.

“The day I found out I was accepted into the program was the day Wayne's nephrologist told him he needed to start dialysis,” she said.

Perreault goes to dialysis three times a week for four hours at a time, and said that he is lucky that his treatments are only for the short-term.

“I don't want to be portrayed as some kind of hero,” Donna Perreault said. “There are a lot of spouses out there who would do the same thing.”

Her husband, who said he would do the same if the roles were reversed, is emotional when he talks about the offer his wife has made.

“I'm beyond words,” he said. “I choke up when I talk about it.”

But he said their situation likely will make their union that much stronger.

“It's like our faith; we believe in those vows,” he said. “We've had our tough times and our good times, and these are our tough times.”

The Perreaults, who do not have children, will have a post-surgery network of family help that includes Donna's eight siblings, who have offered the couple a place to stay as they recover, and help getting Wayne to Boston twice a week in the month following the surgery.

“I realize more and more each day how lucky I am,” said Wayne Perreault. “I feel extremely fortunate, and realize it even more now that I'm on dialysis, because there are people on dialysis that don't have a donor waiting.”

To help offset transplant-related costs not covered by insurance, a fund managed by the non-profit organization HelpHOPELive has been set up in Wayne Perreault's name. The couple said they were initially hesitant to accept any financial help.

“But I realize that even with insurance, things can change,” said Donna. “He'll be on medication the rest of his life.”

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Kathy Remillard may be reached at kremillard@newstote.com.