My Heart Was Already Open to Donating, So This Felt Right: Jenna Squires’s Nutcracker Donation Story

I first started the process of becoming a kidney donor for a family member in 2021. Because of the in-depth testing on my kidneys, it was discovered that I had Nutcracker Syndrome and severe pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS). 

I had no idea what Nutcracker Syndrome or PCS were. I had never heard of them, and it was so hard to find information about the two conditions. I had decades of symptoms, but they thought it was endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, and I had been treated for both of those things since I was 16. 

My family member ended up receiving a kidney from someone else who was further along in the process. At that point, I tabled everything for a while, even though I kept having recurring left kidney pain, left ovarian pain, blood in the urine, extreme fatigue, and all of the classic Nutcracker symptoms.  

In 2024, I had my eighth beautiful baby, and the pregnancy was very difficult physically. I experienced heavy vaginal and rectal bleeding and hemorrhaging throughout the pregnancy. These symptoms continued after delivery and never resolved. A year postpartum, I was still hemorrhaging very badly, and no one could figure out what was wrong. I was getting a lot of band-aid fixes because the doctors weren’t sure what was happening. 

I also kept having left kidney pain once a month that would last about 10 days. The doctors kept doing cultures, but there was never any infection. In May 2025, I had to have emergency surgery to hopefully stop the internal left ovarian bleeding, and the rectal, vaginal, and urinary bleeding. At this point, I became desperate to find a better solution and this is when I found LJ’s story on the National Kidney Registry website. 

She was the first person to donate her kidney after undergoing a therapeutic nephrectomy to treat Nutcracker Syndrome. The minute I read her story, I knew that was what I wanted to do. My heart was already open to donating, and this felt like the right next step.  

Choosing to donate my Nutcracker kidney felt like the safest and most studied option compared to autotransplantation or stents. I started the process of registering to be a donor with the hope of donating my kidney as soon as possible. I received a donor mentor through the National Kidney Registry, and she gave me the names of some hospitals where I could get started.

At this point I was worried I had too much damage from Nutcracker Syndrome to be able to donate, and I questioned if my body was healthy enough to do it. But I passed everything, and in my opinion, it was a miracle in the nick of time. 

Ever since my donation, I have had no problems—no pain, no bleeding at all! I feel better than I have in over a decade. Removing and donating my kidney cured me! I am raising my babies, riding my horses, gardening, traveling, mountain biking, hiking, and catching up on the parts of life I missed while I was so sick.

At first, I was worried about how the recipient would feel receiving a Nutcracker kidney, but since the kidney itself still functions perfectly, the recipient wasn’t made aware of the condition.  

My donation was anonymous. My kidney mentor at the hospital told me it went to a 47-year-old man from Florida. I have never met him, and I don’t feel like I need to. I just hope that receiving a kidney helped him have a second chance at a full life, like donating mine gave to me.

About the Author

Jenna Squires married the love of her life in 2005, and she and her husband now have eight beautiful children, seven of whom were born at home with her beloved midwives. Being a momma is her number one joy in life and keeps her very busy on her homestead in Idaho. They have goats, pigs, chickens, and four horses. She has a baby horse named Paisley that she has been training, and plans to take her up to the mountains camping this year.

Jenna grew up in Utah, Texas, California, and Florida, but Idaho is her very favorite. She is able to trail run, trail ride, visit her hot springs, and build a mini flower farm all in one glorious state. She just got certified to coach on her kids’ mountain bike team, and plans to travel and adventure as much as possible for the rest of her life. It’s definitely on her bucket list to write a book or two about the things she’s experienced in her life.