But when he found out who the donor was, he couldn’t believe it — it was the school principal, Jillian Whisnant.
Father Torres, 39, who was ordained in 2021, has faced kidney issues since he was young. He moved to Arkansas with his family from Mexico when he was 12 years old.
“I knew I was sick — I’ve had kidney problems since I was young … but the doctor had said everything was fine,” he told Arkansas Catholic in January. “When I became a seminarian, they did a physical exam, and they noticed that my kidneys had a lot of protein. So they checked my kidneys, and they were in stage three kidney failure in 2010. Two years ago, they told me that my kidneys had been declining and that in three or five years, I would need a transplant.”
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor appointed Father Torres to Christ the King in late 2024 so that he could continue to undergo dialysis and other treatments until he could find a kidney transplant donor. His diagnosis was made public in September 2024, and parishioners across Central Arkansas began to come forward, offering the priest their own support — whether it was food, prayers or their own kidney.
That selflessness from the community began to bear fruit in May.
Whisnant, who was promoted to principal in August, said, “We were made aware in about May that he was going to be eligible for a donor. I called the number that was available, and one step led to another, and I found out I was a match.”
For a successful living-donor kidney transplant, medical professionals must assess blood and tissue compatibility between the donor and recipient. With a compatible match, the recipient’s immune system is less likely to attack the new kidney, mistaking it for a threat or a foreign virus.
Doctors will often perform a test in advance, mixing the donor’s cells with the recipient’s blood to see whether anything in the recipient’s system will attack them. If all of these tests pass and the donor meets medical criteria, the two are considered a match.
It’s significantly more likely for family members and relatives to be a match than someone unrelated to you — that’s what makes Father Torres’ and Whisnant’s match medically possible, but still rare.
“I had to be a match, and I had to be healthy enough and fit all the criteria to give,” Whisnant said.
She found out the day before Father Torres did that she was his match.
“I told my husband, and I talked about it with him, but I hadn’t told anyone else. I didn’t know how I was going to tell you,” Whisnant said to Father Torres as she sat across from him in her office Dec. 9, the day before the surgery. “I was waiting for them to tell you before I said anything. Then, when I saw him, I saw the huge smile on his face, and it just came out. I had to join in with his joy.”
Father Torres recalled when he was told he had a match and finding out who his donor was.
“I was in the sacristy with Deacon Christopher Elser. I was finishing a school Mass, and I told him, ‘Oh, you’re the first person to know that I have a match,’” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t know who the donor was. They didn’t tell me. … So the first thing I did was come over to the school, and I was coming through here, and the first person I saw was Jillian. I told her, ‘I received the call, but don’t know who the donor is.’ And Jillian said, ‘It’s me, Father.’ I said, ‘What?!’ I couldn’t believe it.”
The transplant was completed Dec. 10 at UAMS in Little Rock. That afternoon, pastor Father Juan Guido shared an update with fellow priests and diocesan staff.
“I am happy to share that both Fr. Manny’s and Mrs. Whisnant’s surgeries went well,” he wrote. “Thank you for all your prayers and support. As they begin their recovery, please continue to keep them both in your prayers.”
Whisnant said she is thankful that she gets to play a part in Father Torres’ health journey.
“I was just very glad that I was healthy enough to donate and that I was a match,” the wife and mother of four said. “… After doing some research, there’s really no downside for me, other than missing a couple of days of work. … I should be going home on Thursday, Friday (Dec. 11-12) at the latest, and then just hanging out in bed for a little while. … Just a lifting restriction for a couple of weeks — I will be on my couch with a cup of coffee watching Christmas movies for a little while.”
Father Torres’ recovery will be a little more involved.
“I will stay in the hospital for four days for monitoring,” he said. “Then after that, I heard from others and the doctors as well, that the first six weeks are the most critical ones, but I’ll be on medical leave for three months.”
Father Torres and Whisnant laughed as they recalled explaining to angry students that, while they wouldn’t see Father Torres for a while, his absence was a good thing.
“A couple of kids at school have expressed that they’re angry that I’m giving Father Manny a kidney because that means he won’t be up here at school,” she said. “And I’ve had to explain to them that this is a good thing long-term — even though you won’t be with him and he’ll be out of sight for a little while. They love having him up here. I always find him in the art room or the STEM lab or in the lunchroom.”
All things considered, Father Torres said he was feeling “very grateful.”
“I’m a little nervous for tomorrow’s surgery, but I never expected this much love from the community, and for Jillian, of course, the huge sacrifice she is making. I feel loved by the community, even though they don’t know me that well, because I’ve only been here a year. So I see God’s love through them, and I’m very, very, very grateful. …
“When I moved here, my health was going down. That’s why I moved. Father Juan told the bishop, ‘I can take care of him,’ but I never expected this response from the community.”
Just before his surgery, Father Torres said that the outpouring of love and support from his former parishes — St. Theresa Church in Little Rock, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Marche and St. Mary Church in North Little Rock — along with his current parish, has moved him and encouraged him.
“The kids made me cry yesterday. They had a rosary for us — almost 650 kids praying for us. And I have people telling me all the time from the communities and their parishes that they’re praying for me. Today, I received a text from Kristy Dunn (principal of St. Theresa School in Little Rock) that she walked into one of the classrooms, and they were praying for me. It’s amazing. I feel loved, and I’m very, very grateful to all of them.”