My Kidney Donation Story: Dee Gibson

In 2013, my husband became very ill one day. We weren’t sure what was wrong; he just said he didn’t feel well. I took him to the doctor, and she couldn’t tell what was wrong, so she ordered an ultrasound.  

We went to the hospital for the ultrasound, and they discovered that the pain was being caused by diverticulitis, but they also found multiple cysts on his kidneys, so they diagnosed him with polycystic kidney disease (PKD).  

He had had high blood pressure for a long time, but we didn’t really think anything of it. After he was diagnosed, he told his parents and found out that his mother and his mother’s two brothers had it as well. There is no cure for PKD—you just live with it until you can get a transplant. 

By 2021, he kept getting extremely ill. His kidney function had dropped below 20% and we needed to start thinking about a transplant. We went to Mayo Clinic Florida in March 2021 to get all the testing done. He was approved to get on the transplant list in April.  

His health continued to decline, and in September 2021, he had surgery to have a catheter put in and started peritoneal dialysis. He did that from home. Everything seemed to be going fairly well, and he started feeling a little better.  

In 2022, I was trying to find my way on how to be a wife to someone who had an incurable illness that could potentially end his life. One day, I was driving in my car, crying. I cried in my car a lot so he wouldn’t see me crying. I told myself that I had to work on myself. I had to take care of me. I started going to the gym, lifting weights, and working on my diet. Over the course of about a year and a half, I lost 80 pounds. I went from a size 22-24 to a size 8. 

We had previously had two people get tested as potential donors. One was not a match, and the other had some issues, including a cyst on her kidney, so she was not able to donate. 

In the spring or summer of 2024, I told him I wanted to get tested to see if I could do an indirect donation. I could not donate to him directly because we were not a blood match. I felt like I was mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically ready to do it. He didn’t want me to do it, but I asked him if he would do it for me. He said yes, in a heartbeat. So I said, then you need to let me do it for you. I registered with the National Kidney Registry and was approved for an initial consultation.  

I did all the testing, and in August or September I received a letter that said I was approved to donate. I told them that December would be a good time for me to have the surgery.  

We ended up using the Voucher Program because his blood type is O positive, and people with that blood type sometimes have to wait longer for a transplant. We also didn’t want to burden people with having to take care of two people. With the Voucher Program, he could take care of me after my donation, and I could take care of him after his transplant. 

Donating through the Voucher Program is different because you are not donating directly to the person you want to help. You have to go from a different part of your heart, and know that no matter what happens, you are helping someone. 

I was initially matched with two people, but they didn’t work out. They put me back in the system and I matched with the person who became my recipient. I donated on December 12, 2024. I don’t know who my recipient is. I have not heard from them, but I heard that their surgery was a success.  

My recovery was amazing. I was at the gym six weeks after my surgery. I just started slowly going back, continuing to work on myself. 

In 2025, he became very ill and ended up having to be hospitalized three times. We weren’t sure if he was going to survive. The situation was extremely grim. Finally, he was matched with a donor and received his transplant on October 23, 2025. 

The first year he was on the transplant list, he had a dream that he was going to get a transplant within the fourth year of being on the list and we are at four and a half years now. He received his kidney within that fourth year.  

We feel very, very blessed for the gift that he has received. It has given him a new lease on life. He was at 4% kidney function, and his kidneys were about the size of footballs. He had both removed. He feels so much better. It’s like I have my husband back. We’re ready to continue our lives together.

About the Author

Dee Gibson is a Dominican/American who was born in New York City and grew up in Florida. When she was 19 years old, she moved from Cape Coral to Tennessee. Five years later, she met her husband, Richard, and his daughter, Kenzie. They married and had a daughter, Isabella, in 2001. They moved to West Virginia in 2005, and Dee decided to go back to school, earning two engineering degrees in 2009. She worked as an engineer for several years but later found a different calling. She now teaches Pilates and helps people with their health and wellness. Dee and her husband are now empty nesters, and with his health restored after the transplant, they are planning a trip to Italy in 2027. They are grateful and thankful for this new lease on life.