“When my brother-in-law, Jerry, was first diagnosed and found out that he had kidney disease, and that he was going to need a transplant, Dr. Locke at UAB was a family friend of ours and we had kept up with her here at UAB.
“We learned of the process of getting him on a transplant list before going on dialysis, which is what we were trying to avoid.
“I come from a large family with three sisters. It was never a question of ‘if’ someone would donate but a question of ‘who.’ I ended up being a better match than my husband and brother-in-law, who offered. We wanted Jerry to have the best.
“We found out about the paired kidney chain and the prospect of helping someone else, and we agreed to do that.
“Once it was determined that there was someone who would be a better match for Jerry, I came down here for some preliminary testing to see who I would be a better match for. There was lots of teaching and education, which was fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough about Mary Anne the coordinator here.
“I’m a nurse, so I feel very strongly about organ donation. I’ve been an organ donor since I was 16. I have triplets and they are all sixteen now, and so when it came up whether or not they wanted to be organ donors, they were very eager to participate. I think this has been a great learning tool for teaching my own children what it means to give.
“I think this chain is fantastic. It can be a little scary, but I feel like I’ve been very well prepared. I think it’s very important and has a very special place in my heart.
“Jerry has been through a lot these last couple of years. Watching his health decline has been hard for all of us.
“Just the thought of being able to help someone else – it’s fantastic.”
Joy Dean - 51
"I think this has been a great learning tool for teaching my own children what it means to give."