My Kidney Donation Story: Kelly Boodoo
It all started in December 2008, when my big brother was rushed to the emergency room—his kidneys were failing, and he had to go on dialysis.
While they started him on dialysis, we started the process of finding a donor. My brothers did the blood tests to see if they were compatible, but they were not. I have two older sisters—one had just had a baby, and one was trying to have a baby, so they were not good candidates. My dad was compatible, but we did not want him to have to go through surgery.
I am the sixth of 10 kids, so the younger ones were much too young to donate. My blood test was compatible: I was A-positive. When I told my brother, he was happy. But then they told him I could not donate because I was underage: I was 18, and usually they want you to be 21 or over.
My brother went to church with my family, and while they were praying, I called the hospital and said, when you are 18, you can give consent, so this is me giving consent for the surgery.
On March 3, 2009, I became his donor. I stayed at the hospital for one week. Now, 16 years later, I am 100% OK.
Kelly Boodoo
I went through the whole process, with all the blood tests, and everything was good. On March 3, 2009, I became his donor. I stayed at the hospital for one week. Now, 16 years later, I am 100% OK. I just had my kidney function tested in August 2025, and it is fine.
I want to encourage others to become donors because I know there are a lot of young people with kidney failure who are just waiting for a deceased donor kidney to become available because their families are scared or have concerns about the surgery.
I am living life normally. I don’t feel any different. I eat and drink and do everything normally and I have no problems at all. I think my experience is enough to encourage anyone to become a living kidney donor.
About the Author
Kelly is 35 years old and works as a Geriatric Care Nurse. She is the sixth of 10 siblings born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago by her parents. She loves cricket and caring for the elderly or those who can’t help themselves. She is a loving, caring, hardworking, phenomenal independent woman who believes that with God, all things are possible—just be positive.