Jennifer's Journey Through Kidney Donation

Jennifer was 47 years old when she donated her kidney to her brother. When she found out that her brother needed a kidney due to a virus, she and her cousins ran 6 tests to see if any of them were a match. When she found out that she was a 6-point match to donate (which is basically a perfect match) she knew she needed to donate her kidney to save her brother's life.  

Jenifer is a very active individual and exercise is a big part of her life. She enjoys biking, running, swimming, hiking, and paddle boarding. One of her biggest fears coming out of this surgery was not being able to do the things that she loved doing anymore.

Jennifer's journey started once she found out she was a match for her brother, but it wasn't as simple as just giving her kidney away, she had many more tests that she had to complete before that final stage. All of these tests were extremely easy and non-invasive. She has Multiple psychiatrists and doctors calling her every month to check on her mental and physical health. This was a very reassuring process. When she was 6 months out from her surgery she flew out to the Yale University Transplant Center to run more tests and X-rays and she did this again 5 days before her and her brother's surgery. 

After Jennifer's surgery, it took 6 weeks to feel normal again but it did take her much longer to get back into all of the extreme exercise she loves doing. The only things holding her back was recovering and getting used to her body working with one kidney. It took her 6 months to feel 100% when exercising, but this recovery time is relatively short compared to other forms of surgery or illnesses which can take months or years longer. Jennifers says “Every person's reason for donating is very different”, you do not have to be someone's brother to consider donating.