Colorado best friends bond over kidney donation

DENVER — A life-saving kidney transplant has bonded two best friends forever.

Kelsey Anderson, 34, and Collin Giglio, 37, practically grew up together.

“We were always really close,” Anderson said, “we went to the same church, our sisters were friends, and we ended up going to the same college and becoming really close there, and then after college we ended up working for the same company.”

Colorado best friends bond over kidney donation

Their friendship was put to the test a few years ago when Giglio broke some big news.

“When he told me that, I thought he was joking because he does that all the time. He was like, 'Oh yeah, my kidneys are going bad,' and I was like, 'Wait a minute, are you serious?'” Anderson recalled.

Giglio was born with horseshoe-shaped kidneys that never functioned at 100% and only got worse over time, eventually landing him on at-home dialysis and on a waiting list for a transplant.

“It was pretty disappointing at that point,” Giglio said.

Anderson didn't know that it would save Giglio's life: After watching her husband donate a kidney, she wanted to do the same for Giglio.

Blood tests determined Anderson and Giglio were a match.

“I immediately turned to my husband and knew we had to give Colin a kidney,” Anderson said.

November 13, 2023 was the big day.

“I was only in the hospital for three days, including the day of surgery,” Giglio says.

The two best friends were able to meet at the hospital a few days after the surgery before being released, which Giglio said gave him his life back.

“I feel great. I'm not in any pain,” Giglio said.

At his last checkup, his blood counts had soared back to healthy, normal levels.

“I really appreciate what you've done. It's wonderful, it's wonderful. I'll take good care of it,” Giglio told Anderson.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100,000 people are on the waiting list for organ transplants. Living donors provide an average of about 6,000 organs per year.

About 2,000 people are on the waiting list in Colorado, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Supply can't keep up with the demand for kidneys, said Gina Hilcher, a nurse and living donor coordinator at Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center. She said it's a much easier process than people think.

“You can easily survive with only one kidney,” Hirtcher says. “We make sure that it's safe for someone to donate their kidney, and when we make that decision, we predict what that person's life will be like in 20 years' time.”

Anderson said she would do it again if she could.

“It was an easy decision. Lending a hand to extend someone's life has no effect on my own life. If I had 100 more kidneys, I would do it 100 more times,” Anderson said.