WAY. GEEZ, YOU REALLY DUG DEEP. A LIFETIME OF SHARED MEMORIES THAT MUST HAVE BEEN BEFORE KATE WAS BORN. OR COLIN WHITNEY BAKER AND LAUREN HOUGH’S FAMILIES. OH MY GOODNESS, WERE FRIENDS BEFORE THEY WERE EVEN BORN. WE WENT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE, AND THROUGH THAT CAME LAUREN’S HEALTH STRUGGLES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SHE NEEDED A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT. HER MOM DONATED HERS. THEN, 24 YEARS LATER, IN 2015, SHE NEEDED ANOTHER. WE ALWAYS ASSUMED MY SISTER WOULD BE THE DONOR, AND SO DID SHE. AND SHE WENT AND DID ALL OF HER TESTING AND TURNED OUT THAT SHE COULDN’T DONATE. WHEN THAT HAPPENED, IT WAS KIND OF LIKE, OH, THERE’S NOT LIKE A BACKUP PLAN. YEAH, WE DIDN’T HAVE A BACKUP PLAN. THAT’S WHEN WHITNEY, A TEACHER, COACH AND MOTHER OF TWO AT THE TIME, MADE PLANS. I JUST KNEW THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE ME. WHITNEY WAS A MATCH. I MEAN, SHE SAVED MY LIFE, AND I WASN’T EVEN EXPECTING THAT. SO I WILL BE FOREVER THANKFUL FOR HER LIFE SAVING FOR LAUREN AND LIFE CHANGING FOR WHITNEY. SHE WENT ON TO HAVE TWO MORE CHILDREN AND GOT TO KNOW THE KIDNEY DONOR COMMUNITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I LOVE THAT PICTURE. NOW SHE’S PROVING POST SURGERY. YOU CAN STILL LEAD A VERY ACTIVE LIFE. WHITNEY IS PART OF THE RENAL WARRIORS. RENAL MEANS ANYTHING RELATED TO THE KIDNEYS, AND LAST YEAR THE NATIONAL KIDNEY REGISTRY SPONSORED HER TEAM IN A 200 MILE RELAY IN COLORADO. I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW THAT THERE WAS A WHOLE NETWORK OUT THERE. AND YOU’LL NOTICE THERE ARE STILL BLANK PAGES IN THIS BOOK. AND WHITNEY SAYS SHE ALREADY HAS PLANS TO FILL THEM. C1 RACE OVER FOUR DAYS WITH THE RENO WARRIORS. THAT INCLUDES RUNNING, BIKING AND KAYAKING IN LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK. YOU CAN DO ALL OF THE THINGS WITH ONE KIDNEY. A STRONG BODY AND AN EVEN STRONGER FRIENDSHIP. ALTHOUGH LAUREN SAYS THESE MEMORIES WON’T BE SHARED IN HER GROUP, THERE’S ONE DONOR RECIPIENT PAIR. AND I TOLD HER THAT WILL NEVER BE US. BUT BECAUSE I’M NOT A RUNNER, THEY NEVER. ARE. BUT I’M VERY HAPPY FOR HER.
Cumberland County woman shows organ donation’s life-changing impact
“I mean, she saved my life.” One organ transplant changes two lives in Cumberland County.
Updated: 7:04 PM EDT Sep 19, 2025
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Whitney Baker, a teacher, coach and mother from Carlisle, Cumberland County, donated a kidney to her lifelong friend Lauren Huff, demonstrating the life-changing impact of organ donation.Their families were friends before they were born, and they shared a lifetime of memories, including attending school together. Huff faced health struggles from a young age, requiring a kidney transplant in elementary school, with her mother as the donor. In 2015, she needed another transplant, but her sister was unable to donate.”It was kind of like, oh, there’s not like a backup plan,” Baker said. “Yeah, we didn’t have a backup plan.”Baker stepped up, despite being nervous, and became the donor. “I remember being so nervous, but once I talked to somebody on the phone, it was like I knew this was going to happen. I just knew that it was going to be me,” she said.Huff expressed her gratitude, saying, “I mean, she saved my life and I wasn’t even expecting that. So, I will be forever thankful for her.”The experience was life-changing for Baker, who became involved with the kidney donor community. She joined the Renal Warriors, a team sponsored by the National Kidney Registry, and participated in a 200-mile relay in Colorado last year.”You can do all of the things with one kidney,” Baker said.Baker is now training for a 300-mile race over four days with the Renal Warriors, which includes running, biking and kayaking in Lake Placid, New York. Although Huff will not be joining her in the race, she supports her friend’s endeavors. “In her group, there is one donor recipient pair and I told her that will never be us, because I’m not a runner, but I’m very happy for her,” Huff said.Baker leaves for New York on Friday, Sept. 19, with her team, which includes another donor from York, Megan Linch.Learn more about the Renal Warriors: National Kidney Registry Sponsors Renal Warriors in Rat Race: Source to City 316-Mile Challenge – Living Donor Games
Whitney Baker, a teacher, coach and mother from Carlisle, Cumberland County, donated a kidney to her lifelong friend Lauren Huff, demonstrating the life-changing impact of organ donation.
Their families were friends before they were born, and they shared a lifetime of memories, including attending school together. Huff faced health struggles from a young age, requiring a kidney transplant in elementary school, with her mother as the donor. In 2015, she needed another transplant, but her sister was unable to donate.
“It was kind of like, oh, there’s not like a backup plan,” Baker said. “Yeah, we didn’t have a backup plan.”
Baker stepped up, despite being nervous, and became the donor. “I remember being so nervous, but once I talked to somebody on the phone, it was like I knew this was going to happen. I just knew that it was going to be me,” she said.
Huff expressed her gratitude, saying, “I mean, she saved my life and I wasn’t even expecting that. So, I will be forever thankful for her.”
The experience was life-changing for Baker, who became involved with the kidney donor community. She joined the Renal Warriors, a team sponsored by the National Kidney Registry, and participated in a 200-mile relay in Colorado last year.
“You can do all of the things with one kidney,” Baker said.
Baker is now training for a 300-mile race over four days with the Renal Warriors, which includes running, biking and kayaking in Lake Placid, New York. Although Huff will not be joining her in the race, she supports her friend’s endeavors. “In her group, there is one donor recipient pair and I told her that will never be us, because I’m not a runner, but I’m very happy for her,” Huff said.
Baker leaves for New York on Friday, Sept. 19, with her team, which includes another donor from York, Megan Linch.
Learn more about the Renal Warriors: National Kidney Registry Sponsors Renal Warriors in Rat Race: Source to City 316-Mile Challenge – Living Donor Games
