By Richard Chumney
Journal Inquirer
DERBY, Conn. — A Derby volunteer firefighter and father of two facing end-stage kidney failure has been matched with a donor, officials said.
The Shelton Fire Department announced Monday that Chris Matto, 33, is now preparing for transplant surgery with his family.
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“Brother Chris “CJ” Matto has found a match!” the department said. “Please consider showing your support as he and his family prepare for the surgery.”
The department said a car wash fundraiser will be held on June 6 at Hilltop Hose Company No. 5 on Pulaski Highway in Ansonia to help support Matto and his family.
Matto and his wife, Katie Matto, said in an interview last month that he was diagnosed with kidney disease after he was not feeling well and went to St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport to get his heart checked.
At the time, the couple said Chris Matto would need to go on dialysis within six months if he did not find a donor.
“If I was to get a transplant, I could potentially get back to normal and just recover and be here for my kids and be the father I was before,” Matto said.
Matto, a third-generation Derby firefighter, is also a volunteer with the Derby ambulance corps and the Ansonia Fire Department. He has a 5-year-old daughter, Genevieve, and 3-year-old son, Frankie.
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Each year, the NFFF carries out a responsibility entrusted to it by Congress: honoring America’s fallen firefighters and standing alongside the families they leave behind. In 2026, that mission is at risk.
