The Voucher Program Would Have Saved Him a Year of Dialysis: Michelle Nolan’s Kidney Donation Story

In January 2024, my 19-year-old son Jack woke up sick one morning and was vomiting repeatedly. I took him to urgent care, not thinking too much about it, thinking he just had a stomach bug.

They initially wanted to send him home with just migraine medication because he was complaining of light sensitivity. I was frustrated and asked them to please run some tests first and give him some IV fluids. About five minutes later, Jack had a seizure right there on the gurney. This was caused by severe dehydration.

He was rushed by ambulance to St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, where the doctors ran every test imaginable. His glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was just 14, meaning his kidneys were barely functioning, so he was started on dialysis immediately. A kidney biopsy later confirmed he had IgA nephropathy.

After nine days in the hospital, Jack came home and began hemodialysis three days a week. Six months later, he transitioned to home dialysis, which he continued for about a year. His nephrologist recommended Upstate Medical University in Syracuse for a transplant evaluation, and thankfully, he was approved almost immediately.

We reached out to friends and family, hoping to find a living donor. I was willing to donate, but my blood type is A positive and Jack is O negative, so we were not medically compatible.

Around that time, someone from the National Kidney Registry contacted me about the Voucher Program. She was incredibly kind and explained everything, but I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t process what she was saying. Looking back, she might as well have been speaking another language. I set the information aside because our only focus was finding someone who could donate directly to Jack.

Several friends and family went through testing, but no matches were found. After nearly a year of exhausting every possibility, I looked further into the Voucher Program. I started the testing process and thankfully I was healthy enough to become a donor!

Initially, I wanted to pursue paired exchange because I was nervous about donating first without knowing exactly when Jack would receive a kidney. But my coordinator explained that a paired exchange could also take a long time. Donating through the Voucher Program meant I could donate first, recover fully, and then be available to care for Jack after his transplant. That was exactly what I wanted to do.

Once I made that decision, everything moved very quickly.

I donated my kidney on August 11, 2025. Just 10 days later, a matching kidney was identified for Jack, and he received his life-saving transplant on September 24, 2025.

My recovery went remarkably well! In addition, Donor Shield was a lifesaver. I truly can’t say enough about this program. It reimbursed me for travel, hotel stays, and lost wages, which eased so much of the financial stress during my recovery.

Looking back, my biggest takeaway is simple: I wish I had listened sooner to the kind woman who first told me about the Voucher Program. If I had understood it then, it could have saved Jack an entire year on dialysis.

Today, Jack is 22 years old and doing great. He’s starting to get back to work as a stagehand alongside my ex-husband. My family has deep roots in the theater business, so seeing Jack follow in his grandfather’s footsteps has been incredibly special.

After everything our family has been through, it’s wonderful to be able to say that this story has a very happy ending.

About the Author

Michelle is a 57-year-old mother of three who resides in Clifton Park, New York, with Jack, his 23-year-old sister Abby, and her fiancé Dan. Her older son, Jacob, 29, resides in Stillwater, NY. Michelle is employed by Aflac NY as a veteran 20-year sales representative. She enjoys spending time with her kids, golf, and snowmobiling in the winter on Indian Lake.