“It can be an unsettling feeling when you have to rely on a stranger.
“I found that out first hand whenever my husband was going to need a bone marrow transplant, and none of our family matched and none of our friends matched.
“We were at the mercy of a stranger. For months we prayed for someone out there to be a match, and for them to be healthy and willing to donate. Fortunately, my husband was admitted for a trial drug a few months later, and the transplant was no longer needed. He is feeling great, and may be in remission by the end of this year!
“The helpless feeling of needing a stranger to save my husband’s life never left me. My friend Mark donated a kidney to his father, and he said it was the best thing he ever did. He said that the time with his dad after the transplant was the best time of their lives. His words, along with that helpless feeling kept coming back to me. I felt as if the Holy Spirit was telling me that I should donate a kidney so that someone else would not feel that helplessness.
“I prayed about it and called UAB to tell them I had a kidney I was willing to give up. All I did was obey God and leave the consequences up to him. He is the ultimate physician.
“As for my life and, specifically, my health, I haven’t noticed a difference. Nothing. I am as active as I have always been, and I just praise God for every day I have.
“I originally did not want to meet the recipient, nor have any publicity for donating. I didn’t even tell most of the members of my family until the day before the donation. It was not about me, and I still don’t feel like it is. My husband said to pray about it, because someone else may be blessed to hear the story. Then, a nurse at the hospital mentioned how people sometimes are led to donate after they see people doing well after donating. So, I prayed, and realized they were right. God is in control, and to Him be the glory.
“I met the recipient, and she is a wonderful, beautiful Christian woman. And, it turns out that not only does she live about 15 miles from where I grew up (in a completely different state than Alabama), but we were also in Navy boot camp at the same time way back in 1986. It was just a delightful confirmation of how God makes a big world seem small.”
Paula King - 1
"Knowing that there was somebody out there who could use what I had and praying about it and seeing a friend who had donated a kidney made me realize that perhaps I was somebody else's friend."
Additional Info
- Hometown: Helena, Alabama
- Donor-Recipient: Donor