Reader email: "She was kind enough to give me one of her kidneys."

Hi all,

If you need your faith in humanity restored, read this. If you aren’t in the mood to shed a tear at how wonderful our species can be, skip it!

After I posted my Inside Medicine about kidney transplants, I received the most touching email from a reader named Jennifer Woda who in 2019 received a kidney from a living donor named Jennifer Bromagen—another Jennifer! With Jen Woda’s permission, here is the email:

Hello Dr. Jeremy!

I am a kidney recipient from a living donor. At age 19 I learned that I had chronically low kidney function (between 25-30% function) and would get annual blood work to monitor my function. 

When I was 47 my kidney function dropped to 15%. I always joked that I kept a large group of friends so I would have a large pool of possible donors, but when the time came to find a donor, this joke became a bit of a reality. 

I posted on Facebook that it was time for me to find a donor and that my blood type was B+. Twelve friends volunteered to get tested and the third person who went through the full testing was a good match. Jennifer was a friend of mine from our days singing with the Cleveland Opera Chorus, and she had moved to the Seattle area around 11 years ago. In spite of the fact that we connected maybe once a year in the recent years and we hadn’t lived in the same city for years, she was kind enough to give me one of her kidneys. 

Our surgery was 9/12/19 at the Cleveland Clinic. I was home just two days after surgery. Jennifer was discharged the next day [after me]. Almost four years later my kidney function is at 65-70% and we are both feeling great. The biggest challenge has been trying to stay healthy during the pandemic. My original three months of quarantine turned into a couple of years when it became clear that due to my immunosuppressive drug regimen the Covid vaccines were not effective for me. 

Jennifer and I are planning to perform a duet recital in Cleveland the last weekend of September to raise awareness about kidney donation and to raise money for the NKF. 

I not only gained a healthy kidney but I also gained a sister for life. ❤️

Here’s a link to a virtual recital we put together during the pandemic to benefit the Transplant House of Cleveland. 

Jennifer Woda 

Director and Instructor

Sing and Swing, LLC

Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you want to be a donor?

As I watched and listened to Jennifer and Jen sing duets in their recital, I couldn’t help but feel the emotion. Perhaps that’s to be expected, as I love medicine and music. More than that, it’s actually quite amazing—and not just because they’re two very accomplished singers. Sure, many people have sung the Barcarolle by Offenbach (21:45 in the video) and the famous Lakmé duet by Delibes (44:00)—and those pieces have probably even been duetted by two singers named Jennifer. But as I took it all in, I kept marveling at the situation. “That woman on the right side of the screen has a kidney from the woman on the left side of the screen inside of her body right now and it’s keeping her alive.” Every time I had that thought, I got chills. It’s the best.

Is this the first time in history that these duets have been performed by a living kidney donor and her recipient? Maybe! In any case, it’s a beautiful moment, and I invite you all to share in it.