Beth Piraino

As a renal fellow at UPMC in the early 1980s, Beth Piraino (A&S ’70, MED ’77) watched the disruption outpatient dialysis caused in her patients’ lives and wondered why more of them did not opt for in-home treatment. She soon learned a major reason: no one told them it was an option.

“I became a passionate advocate of the choice of in-home dialysis,” Dr. Piraino said. “When you first mention it, people think they cannot do it. However, with some education they can. And if there is ever a problem, there is a nurse to help.”

The 1980s was an exciting time to work with kidney patients in Pittsburgh. Dr. Thomas Starzl was revolutionizing organ transplantation, and Piraino was there on the ground floor. Her fellowship led to an appointment as an assistant professor in nephrology, which was the start of a long career expanding the world’s understanding of dialysis and shaping the next generation of physicians.

“I have a very strong sense of loyalty to the University, and I’m proud to be part of the institution,” said Piraino who shows her gratitude in many ways, including through her philanthropy. She created two charitable gift annuities (CGA)—one in 2017 and the other in 2021.

A CGA starts with the donor making a gift of at least $10,000 to Pitt. In return, the University makes annual annuity payments to the donor for the life of the donor and/or another designee. Because Piraino made a flexible gift annuity, she is given the option each year to begin taking the payments or to defer them into the future. The charitable portion of the FCGA comes into play when the last annuity recipient passes away and the remainder of the fund is used to support a program or scholarship of the donor’s choosing.

“I like to give to things that are meaningful to me,” Piraino said of her philanthropy. “Endowed funds go on forever and ever, and will grow in everything they give to the University.”