I am a living kidney donor. On Sept 28, 2018, I donated a kidney at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to a woman I read about in the newspaper (the lovely blonde in the attached photo). Fifteen years before a dear family friend donated a kidney to my beloved cousin Ann so I had some experience with the idea. But learning I was a perfect match for a complete stranger still blew my mind.

Because I lived in Kansas City and my recipient lived in Ft. Lauderdale, we both had to travel quite a distance to Rochester, MN for our appointments, evaluations, and the ultimate surgery. While the care at Mayo is extraordinary, I would still recommend finding a Transplant Center near your home if at all possible. In addition to traveling to Minnesota with my caregiver (my husband) four times during the donation process, I had to ship numerous blood and urine samples via FedEx, including some on dry ice (which is harder to do than you might think!). I am retired, so this extra burden was not a problem, but my husband missed 18 days of work for all the out-of-town travel. If I had donated closer to home that would have been less of an issue.

The evaluation process had a lot of ups and downs. I was a borderline donor: 61 years old, BMI of 30, borderline hypertension, blood glucose of 107. But my health was otherwise excellent, my A1C was good (4.9) and my kidney function was top-notch – creatinine of .8 and eGFR non-African-American over 60. Mayo had me run an additional test – a two-hour glucose tolerance test that provided more optimistic results. I also agreed to begin taking a low dose of Lisinopril to treat my mild hypertension. The medication gave me a terrible, dry cough (a known side effect for about 30% of people who take it), so I was switched to Losartan, which solved that problem and also brought my blood pressure under control in less than two weeks. Based on those results, Mayo approved me to donate four months after I first called their Transplant Center to inquire about volunteering.

Subsequent blood tests showed a new, unexplained incompatibility with my recipient, so we enrolled in the paired kidney exchange program. We quickly matched for a 6-person chain, which was very exciting. That chain fell apart due to an issue with another donor-recipient pair, so Mayo re-evaluated our blood tests and decided it would be safe for me to donate directly to my intended recipient.

Our first surgery date was Sept 18, 2018. After a full day of final tests I was settled into the hotel room with my husband preparing for surgery in the morning when the on-call nephrologist called from the Mayo hospital: my recipient was too sick for surgery; our procedure was cancelled. I was stunned. It did not seem possible that we had done so much to get to this point, and now it was over.

My husband and I drove home to Kansas City very unsure about what might happen next. As it turned out, Mayo’s excellent, aggressive treatment worked, and within a week my recipient was healthy enough for the transplant to continue. We drove back to Rochester where my recipient was waiting, and on Sept 28, 2018 our transplant surgeries were successful!

I recovered very quickly, with little post-op pain and no complications. I was released after two nights in the hospital, and I went back to the hotel to recover before driving home five days later. My recipient was able to fly home to Ft. Lauderdale three weeks after surgery.

I rested and recovered at home, regaining strength very quickly. Within a month I was able to accompany my husband on a business trip to NYC, where I attended several Broadway shows and walked the city streets for miles. At my 6-month follow-up at Mayo my kidney function was so strong “we’d let you donate again except you only have one kidney.” My recent two-year labs show creatinine of 1.13, which is excellent for a solo kidney. I continue to take Losartan and my blood pressure remains under control. I’ve lost 5 pounds and work (actually, struggle) to lose more. Thanks to the kidney donation process I am healthier than I have ever been, focusing on exercising, eating well, and drinking lots of water.

My recipient is doing well, too. Before COVID she traveled to Kansas City frequently to see family, and we often got together when she visited. Now we stay connected by text, phone, and Facebook. She has traveled a great deal since the transplant and had many grand adventures. She’s even gone zip lining! I often tease her that the kidney she received is having a lot more fun than the kidney I kept!

I joined with medical ethicist John D. Lantos, M.D. to write about my experiences as a living organ donor and the broader historical, scientific, and ethical issues involved in organ donation. Our book, Kidney to Share, is being published by Cornell University Press and will be released in May 2021.

Donating a kidney was complicated, difficult, and frustrating. It was also the most meaningful experience of my life. I wish everyone could have that feeling of participating in a real-life miracle.