# Anonymous Kidney Donor Turns Out To Be Surprise Of A Lifetime



## Shula (Aug 31, 2018)

As a transplant family 2 times over, I loved this story! And I'm so glad it all worked out. It reminds me of this: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

https://www.kmbc.com/article/anonymous-kidney-donor-turns-out-to-be-surprise-of-a-lifetime/22817039


*BUTLER, Mo. —*

Two Kansas City-area sorority sisters now share a bond they never expected.

And it all started with a secret. One of them was holding on to news that would change both of their lives.

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Doncella Liggins has kidney disease. She was on a transplant waiting list when she got the news of a match - an anonymous donor.

And that's where this huge surprise starts.

Doncella and Beverly Burch have been friends and sorority sisters for decades - living in the small town of Butler, Missouri.

Both were thrilled when doctors at Saint Luke's told Doncella they'd found a donor kidney.

"I said 'WHAT?' And he said, 'Yeah, there's a match.' And I said, 'Who?'" said Doncella. "He said, 'Well, I can't tell you. The only thing I can tell you is that they're young and healthy.'"

For the next six months, Beverly was hiding a secret. She was that anonymous donor.

But she couldn't decide whether or not to tell her friend.

"I was afraid something was going to jinx it," said Beverly.

So, she waited until the eleventh hour. The day before the transplant.

Beverly handed her friend a card that said, "Looking forward to sharing part of my life with you - let's do this."

"At that moment I realized who it was," said Doncella. "And I went, 'Oh my gosh, it's you! It's you!' And she told me she's known since November."

The two have been recovering together since the surgery. Their story has touched a lot of people, including their surgeon.

"This is not just a story of friendship and love, but of heroism. And to step forward and donate part of oneself to save the life of another," said Dr. Eddie Isalnd.

The friends say they hope their story encourages others to consider being a living donor.

"I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat," said Beverly. "But I really need my other kidney."


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## nysister (Sep 6, 2018)

Awwww what a selfless and kind thing to do. That's a true friend.


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## Transformer (Sep 7, 2018)

Totally selfless.  Honest here....I’m not giving up a body part while I’m alive except to a VERY close relative.


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## LdyKamz (Sep 11, 2018)

This is very touching and you have to be totally selfless. I watched a story where a guy gave his kidney to his brother. But the brother's body rejected it about a year later. I kept thinking what if he gets sick and needs that kidney he gave away for what essentially turned out to be no reason. So yeah, you'd have to be totally selfless and not worry about something like that happening and just wanting to help.


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## Shula (Sep 14, 2018)

LdyKamz said:


> This is very touching and you have to be totally selfless. I watched a story where a guy gave his kidney to his brother. But the brother's body rejected it about a year later. I kept thinking what if he gets sick and needs that kidney he gave away for what essentially turned out to be no reason. So yeah, you'd have to be totally selfless and not worry about something like that happening and just wanting to help.



You are so right. Years ago, I was thinking of giving my sister a lung. She has sarcoidosis and is on oxygen 24/7, the same illness that killed Bernie Mac. Now my lungs are no good from a different autoimmune illness. So she probably would've ended up in the same boat and I would be in trouble. Couple of days ago, I read of a lady dying of a stroke and her organs went to 5 people. 4/5 died of breast cancer, one of the receivers was male and he too died from "breast cancer".  Too many details to go into to explain that thoroughly but yeah. They didn't realize the donor had it. I had always thought if my kid needed another transplant, God forbid, I would donate. Now not so much. With my health issues, I don't want to give her something extra to deal with as they are just realizing that in transplantation, you are giving the patient more than meets the eye.

Correction: 3/5 died. A male patient survived AFTER they removed the transplanted kidney and a round of chemo was done. Just saw the article on another site again.

ETA2: I'm re-reading this article and this case is wild. While I am grateful my baby had a chance at life, personally I do not believe they know enough of the ramifications in this area. It is virtually a Pandora's box of issues that every single patient must weigh the costs of. The challenge is, you have no idea what those costs will be. The stuff we've had to deal with aside from the transplant and every time I hear..."we have no idea how..." Whew. It's a ride and half and a quarter. Still, I'm grateful for science and the medical field but it's a lot.


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## Guapa1 (Sep 14, 2018)

^ Mind blown.


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## Pat Mahurr (Sep 14, 2018)

What sorority is this???


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## dyh080 (Sep 14, 2018)

I'm a donor after death. I'm not sure what I would do if a close relative needed a living organ. I think I'm jaded after seeing my brother in law receive a heart transplant and not taking care of  the precious gift until it was too late.


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## Shula (Sep 14, 2018)

dyh080 said:


> I'm a donor after death. I'm not sure what I would do if a close relative needed a living organ. I think I'm jaded after seeing my brother in law receive a heart transplant and not taking care of  the precious gift until it was too late.



That always ticks me off!!!  I have watched babies die waiting for organs. I have seen babies/people return to health after it and it's almost like a "resurrection". It's miraculous to see when people do what they are supposed to do. It's like a whole new person. Some teens tend to stop taking their meds because they wanna be like every body else. But every body else ain't dead, fool! I drilled into my kid from the time she was about 5 the seriousness of it all, the sacrifice, her health history, and all related info to stay well within her power (age appropriately, of course). It's so sad when people don't take advantage of the gift they've been given because I promise you thousands (or more) have died waiting for it and would have done right by it.


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