What started as an act of incredible kindness ended in betrayal for Debbie Stevens, a Long Island woman who gave up a kidney for her boss – only to be shown the door not long after.
The 47-year-old told The New York Post: “I decided to become a kidney donor to my boss, and she took my heart.’’ Stevens added, “I feel very betrayed.
This has been a very hurtful and horrible experience for me. She just took this gift and put it on the ground and kicked it.’’
From Life-Saving Gesture to Career Nightmare
Stevens first crossed paths with Jackie Brucia in 2009 when she began working at Atlantic Automotive Group.
Though she left in 2010, Stevens later returned to Long Island and stopped by the office — where she discovered Brucia needed a kidney transplant.
According to legal documents, Stevens offered to help, telling Brucia she'd be willing to donate. The paperwork states: “Brucia... told her, ‘You never know, I may have to take you up on that offer one day.’”
Brucia's initial donor was ultimately ruled out. That’s when Stevens got called into the office.
"My donor was denied. Were you serious when you said that?’ I said, ‘Sure, yeah.’ She was my boss, I respected her. It’s just who I am. I didn’t want her to die," Stevens recounted.
The Surgery That Changed Everything
Although Stevens wasn’t a match for Brucia, she entered a donor swap program — giving her kidney to someone in Missouri so Brucia could receive one from a donor in San Francisco.
"I felt I was giving her life back," Stevens said. “My kidney ended up going to St. Louis, Missouri, and hers came from San Francisco.”
But things took a sharp turn once Stevens returned to work after surgery complications. She says she felt pressured to return early and was soon met with cold treatment.
One day, after leaving work feeling ill, Brucia called her at home: “She... said, ‘What are you doing? Why aren’t you at work?’ I told her I didn’t feel good. She said, ‘You can’t come and go as you please. People are going to think you’re getting special treatment.’”
From Demotion to Dismissal
Stevens said she was stripped of her office and overtime opportunities, then demoted to a dealership 50 miles from home — all while dealing with worsening mental health.
"She just started treating me horribly, viciously, inhumanly after the surgery," she told ABCNews.com. "It was almost like she hired me just to get my kidney."
Her legal team eventually sent a letter to the company. After that, she was fired.
Silence From Her Boss, But Denial From Her Boss’s Husband
Neither Brucia nor Atlantic Automotive Group responded to requests for comment. But Brucia’s husband, James, did speak out, calling the claims “far from the truth” and stating she “didn't fire anybody.”
For Stevens, the pain wasn’t just physical — it was professional and personal.
