My Kidney Donation Story: Emily Wise

This all started back in 2017. I had written a bucket list of things I wanted to do before I turned 30, and one of the things was to help a stranger.  

I was thinking more like buying someone’s groceries, nothing to do with kidney donation, but the next day I logged into Facebook and the very first thing I saw was a post from a father of three who needed a kidney transplant. My dad had three children, and something in me said, if this were my dad, I would want someone to do this for him. 

I didn’t really know anything about living donation. Someone I knew had needed a liver transplant, but that was my only experience with transplantation. When I decided to be tested as his donor, I had to do my own research. 

I did all my testing, and although I was the same blood type as the man on Facebook, I wasn’t a direct match for him. I decided to move forward with a paired exchange donation through the National Kidney Registry (NKR).  

We did our paired donation on the same day: November 2, 2018. My kidney was flown to Pittsburgh and transplanted into a man named Charles. His friend, Michael, donated a kidney that went to the Facebook stranger. 

I recovered extremely quickly and had no complications. I was only 24 at the time, so that may have played a role. I was in the hospital for two days and was back to teaching after just two weeks. I was back to 100% after about a month.  

I wanted to stay involved in the kidney donor community after my donation, so I Googled ways to stay involved with kidney donation and came across the NKDO’s Donor to Donor program. I became a mentor for them, then I joined the NKR as a mentor a few months ago.  

As a mentor, I have two main goals: education and connection. I was a second-grade teacher for six years, so I love to educate people. I didn’t have much information when I decided to donate, so I want to be sure potential donors have all the information and resources they need. 

I also really want to make a connection and build a relationship with the people I mentor. Even if we only meet once, I want to feel like they can come to me when they need support and answers. And even if they don’t end up donating themselves, maybe they’ll share the idea with someone else who will.

About the Author

Since becoming a kidney donor, Emily has gone on to have two beautiful, healthy children and now lives with her husband, Jon, their children, and their golden retriever in central Wisconsin. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, spending time with family, and cheering on the Green Bay Packers.