“I decided to become a donor when I was 22 because I saw it as an easy way to fix things for my father, Ken Hamilton, who needed a kidney. But for a good while, he would not consider taking a kidney from a living donor like me, feeling it was selfish to ask someone else to sacrifice so much for him.
“Then he changed his mind. He called and said he realized he had been selfish to pray for a solution and then not like the answer. He said that kind of thinking was telling God that His solution wasn’t good enough, and he didn’t want to do that anymore. Within two days, I had called UAB and said, ‘I want to be a kidney donor for my dad. How do I get started?’
“Unfortunately, the testing showed I was not a match for my dad because our strands were not compatible. I was devastated and was like, ‘Now what?’ Then Dr. Jayme Locke told me that UAB had a program which would ensure that, if I donated a kidney, my dad would get a kidney. I said, ‘My dad will get a kidney?’ and she said, ‘Yes.’ In a split second, without any contemplation whatsoever, I said ‘Let’s do this!’
“Then came the day my dad got the news that he was getting his kidney, and I can tell you that is the greatest phone call ever. There is no way to explain the emotional rush that comes with getting that kind of good news. It is a very humbling experience.
“It is also humbling to know that God has opened so many doors and allowed me to help another just as someone helped my father. I have not met my recipient, but I have met her family. In talking to them and hearing other stories about the UAB Kidney Chain, I am greatly encouraged by how so many people from across so many different walks of life have come together for one mission — to help each other.
“If someone asks me about being a donor or whether they should do it too, I say yes because you never know whose life you are going to touch. Even if you never meet your recipient, you have made an incredible difference in someone’s life. To know they are OK, to know they are going to live, it is worth it. You are literally giving the gift of life, and that is the greatest reward ever.”