Laura Lee - 24
"It’s hard to explain how happy I am that I was able to do something like this for my friends."
"I knew for a while about his kidney issue, but I didn’t think I was a match. I knew he had type A blood, and I was O positive. I knew I could give blood to anybody, but never really thought about a kidney.
"I knew a relative had been tested and that they determined he would be Price’s donor, but I also knew it was going to be about another year before the transplant would take place.
"I can’t really explain it, but Price’s situation just kept weighing on me and weighing on my mind. I read more about kidney transplants and got on UAB’s website and realized that I could, if need be, give my kidney. I let Price and Vikki know that I could do it and wanted to do it if needed. I knew that relatives were generally preferred and if that wasn’t possible, I wanted Price and Vikki to know that I would be happy to do it.
"Sure enough, when it was near time to do the transplant, Price and Vikki gave me a call and asked if I was still considering it, and I said, ‘Absolutely.’
"I told them I was excited about it. I know it sounds silly, but I really was excited. I wanted to be able to do it for him. I went through the evaluation process and then was given the news that I was a match! After that, we were asked if we wanted to do the paired donation, and we sat down and talked about that together and decided that was the option we wanted to do.
"I got to know Price and Vikki through a friend that I work with. Later, my husband and I got to know them even more in the community, and we just became good friends. We’re so similar, all of us. We think alike and finish each other’s sentences. We’ve become so close that we now consider each other family.
"I’m glad we found each other. Vikki and Price had lived in Colorado. They decided to find their way to Oxford, and they loved the area. We have friends, but nobody like them. When I heard he needed a kidney, I couldn’t help but think that maybe I could help. I talked to my husband about it and asked him if I was crazy for wanting to do this. His response was that I definitely wasn’t crazy and that he would donate to Price if he was a match. So, that just sealed it up for me, and I knew I had my family’s support.
"I have an 11-year-old daughter and 17-year-old stepson. My daughter has been all for me doing this, and my son was a little nervous. But our kids love Price and Vikki. They’re just good people. You just love being around them all the time. It’s hard to explain how happy I am that I was able to do something like this for my friends."