Why did Jim Avila receive kidney transplant? Late ABC correspondent’s brother Jaie Avila donated kidney in 2018

Veteran TV journalist Jim Avila passed away on Wednesday, November 12, as reported by ABC News and other outlets. 

According to CBS News, the 70-year-old’s family said that he was at his home in San Diego on the day of his passing.

ABC News anchor Diane Macedo reported that Jim Avila “passed away after a long illness.”

The former ABC correspondent faced health struggles in the past and underwent a medical procedure six years ago.  

According to TVNewser (Adweek.com), Jim Avila underwent a kidney transplant surgery in April 2018. The late ABC reporter found a match in his brother, Jaie.

TVNewser, Jim suffered from advanced kidney disease and was previously seeking a match to get a new organ.

He recounted during a chat with the outlet in November 2018: 

“I don’t think I realized how serious this was.  I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I could be, before, because I was sick – I was very sick.” 

Jim asserted that he didn’t realize the gravity of the situation until later, as he was “just a week or so from being put in the hospice.”

Speaking about getting a kidney from his brother, Avila added: 

“[Later on] it really hit me, ‘What have you done? Here’s a healthy man [his brother], with three children and a wife.’ It was a big deal.” 

Jim Avila spoke about his changed perspective following a kidney transplant in 2018

According to TVNewser, Jim asserted that the surgery was “quite an ordeal” for him, but he admitted that it was worth it, as it gave him a future, which he realized later.

During the conversation, the journalist also discussed a significant shift in his philosophy when asked about his new perspective. Jim said: 

“I’m not interested in things anymore. I’m interested in gathering experiences. I think that’s a major change in my philosophy.” 

He mentioned being a “clotheshorse” previously, but asserted that he wasn’t keen on buying new suits anymore. Jim added: 

“I have plenty of good suits that I can wear for the rest of my life. But dinner with friends, breakfast with family, traveling the world, meeting new people, new cultures – those are the things that I want to collect for the rest of my life. That’s much more important to me.” 

In April 2018, Jaie Avila posted a clip with Jim as they walked out of LA-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a week after a successful kidney transplant.

The brothers embraced each other at the end of the clip. 

A look at Jim Avila’s decades-long career at CBS, NBC, and ABC

The late ABC News journalist was a Glenbard East High School alumnus who began his broadcast career in 1973 with San Francisco-based KCBS Radio.

Avila later worked at KPIX during the mid-to-late 1970s and joined WLS-TV (ABC 7 Chicago) in 1980. After spending four years with the ABC affiliate, Jim moved to WBBM-TV (CBS Chicago). 

During the 1990s, Avila worked for KNBC (NBC 4 Los Angeles) before becoming a national correspondent for NBC Nightly News in 1997. The veteran reporter became Senior Law and Justice Correspondent for ABC News in 2004 and remained with the network for 17 years, until his retirement in 2021.

He returned to journalism in 2023 and worked for KGTV, an ABC affiliate in San Diego. 

Throughout his career, Jim Avila covered numerous trials, including those of Jerry Sandusky and Penn State, Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, and others. Avila received two National Emmys and five Edward R. Murrow Awards, in addition to a Cine Golden Eagle Award, the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting, and five Chicago-area Emmys, per ABC News.

Jim Avila also served as a 20/20 correspondent, covering reports on immigration. According to his ABC News biography: 

“He won the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association for breaking the news that the United States and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations.” 

ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic, who announced Jim’s death internally, described him as “a gifted journalist and a generous colleague.” He wrote in an email: 

“[Jim] continued to contribute to journalism through opinion writing and local reporting, sharing his experience and deep curiosity to tell the stories that mattered most to his community and viewers.” 

Jim Avila is survived by his three children – Jamie, Jenny, and Evan.