For Shannon and Kyle Kline, faith guided every step of their journey through sudden kidney failure, a whirlwind transplant evaluation and, ultimately, the moment Kyle learned he was the perfect match to save his wife’s life.When Shannon Kline first learned she had polycystic kidney disease six years ago, she knew the diagnosis might one day lead to a kidney transplant. PKD runs deep in her family. Both her grandfather and mother received kidney transplants at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and her physicians had always monitored her kidney function closely. Still, the 44‑year‑old elementary school teacher thought the need for surgery was far in the future.
“I always believed it would be 10, 15, maybe 20 years before I needed a transplant,” she said.
“Then suddenly, everything changed.”
In summer 2024, routine lab work revealed her kidney function had dropped sharply, signaling advanced kidney disease and prompting her medical team to discuss transplant options. By August, she had begun the evaluation process at UAB, where her family had long-standing trust and history.
“I watched my mom go through her transplant 15 years ago,” Shannon said. “UAB felt like home. I even remembered the doctors’ names.”
Shannon’s husband, Kyle, immediately volunteered to begin testing as a potential living donor — not just for her, but for anyone who needed a kidney through UAB’s Living Kidney Donation Program.
“For me, it was all about saving my wife,” Kyle said. “There was no hesitation — not even a little.”
Even with the possibility that one of their three children could one day inherit PKD, Kyle says their decision rested on faith and trust.
“We prayed about whether I should save my kidney for a future need,” he said. “But we believed God would provide what our family needed when the time came. Right now, Shannon needed this.”
In October 2024, Kyle learned he was healthy enough to donate and that he was a direct match. The couple called it an answered prayer.
“We were overwhelmed,” Shannon said. “It meant everything.”
A new year, a new kidney
The transplant was scheduled for Jan. 3, 2025, with Associate Professor Douglas Anderson, M.D., and Carlton J. Young, M.D., in the UAB Division of Transplantation, performing the surgeries. Both procedures were successful, though Shannon faced a brief complication three days later when imaging could not clearly confirm blood flow to the new kidney. She was rushed for a second surgery so physicians could examine the organ directly.
“They found what they needed, and from that point forward, my recovery steadily improved,” she said.
Soon after the transplant, Shannon noticed an almost immediate improvement.
“I didn’t realize how sick I had felt for so long,” she said. “The fatigue was gone. The nausea was gone. I could finally feel what ‘normal’ felt like again.”
Within months, she returned to her third-grade classroom at Riverchase Elementary, this time with renewed energy that even her family could see.
“It’s amazing,” Kyle said. “Seeing her come home from school now compared to the years before. It’s a completely different life.”
Faith, family and community support
Throughout their journey, Shannon and Kyle say their faith and loved ones played a central role.
“We leaned heavily on prayer, our family and our church community,” Shannon said. “As a mom of three, I had moments of fear. Would I be around to watch my kids grow up, get married, have families? Faith is what grounded me through all of it.”
“Her numbers look great. She’s healthy. And I recently hit my one-year donor mark with a clean bill of health,” Kyle said. “We’re grateful every single day.”
Sharing their story to encourage donation
Now living fully restored lives, the couple hopes their journey inspires others to consider organ donation, particularly living donation.
“We were blessed with a strong support network and incredible medical care,” Shannon said. “If sharing our story helps even one person make that decision, then it’s worth it.”
In 2006, UAB became the first transplant center in the Southeast to pursue paired-kidney exchange, a special type of living-donor arrangement. Blood-type and tissue incompatibility can be barriers to a successful donor-recipient match. However, this unique program allows incompatible donor and recipient pairs to be matched with other pairs for compatible transplant. The UAB Kidney Paired Donation Program has significantly increased the number of patients who are able to move from organ waiting lists to successful transplantation.