01/25/2026
“Sarah was found to have high blood pressure during a camp physical when she was a young teen.
She also was diagnosed with insulin resistance and took medication throughout high school. The medication made her feel tired, so she stopped taking it when she was on her own.
By her early 20s, she began to have some health issues, but doctors found no cause other than high blood pressure.
She was conscientious about her medication after that, but the stress of juggling two jobs, college classes and relationship struggles raised her blood pressure again. At 24, she started dialysis.
After six years, just before her 30th birthday, she got the call.
Her donor was a 23-year-old with a brain injury who had registered as a donor after his cousin had done the same.
Her new kidney began working immediately. On the second morning after surgery, she told her mom, ‘My words are back.’
Stress, along with issues from a mail-order pharmacy that delayed her medication, led to her first post-transplant complications. She began having frequent urinary tract infections and other infections. After four years of success and two years of struggle, she had to return to dialysis.
The first call for a second transplant came just days after Sarah was approved, but the organ was not viable. The waiting began again.
In late August 2025, she received a call from an unknown number late at night. Thinking it was too late for a legitimate call, she almost let it go to voicemail but answered. She learned she was an alternate. About 36 hours later, she got the call to come in.
The new kidney was ‘a little sleepy’ at first but improved day by day. Now, she is meeting all her recovery goals with excellent progress.
The family is deeply grateful to the donor families who made it possible for Sarah to be free from dialysis once again.”
—Beth
