Kansas sets organ donation records, friendship saves two lives

Wichita, Kansas (KWCH) – It's been four and a half years since a Derby woman received her new kidneys.

In recent years, organ donation has grown in Kansas and Missouri, with 2024 marking a record year. Midwest transplant networks report that two states have reached the highest number of organ donations ever. In 2024, the network supported 1,075 organ transplants compared to about 900 in 2020 and 591 in 2015.

In December 2019, Derby's Jessica Spore was on the kidney donor list. By May 2020, her doctors had informed her that dialysis was necessary. Just a month later, her best friend Heidi Patrick began testing to see if she was a match. she was.

At the time, spores were nurses and essential workers.

“So I had to go to work in the evening and do dialysis,” she said. The spores fell into immunodeficiency, which added to the challenge.

Spore was diagnosed with IGA nephropathy in 2014. This is a chronic disease that causes serious damage to the kidneys. She was worried but calm. She was a nurse, but had never heard of Iga nephropathy.

After six years of treatment, her kidneys were unable to function properly, making dialysis inevitable. At that time, she began to question everything, but she wanted to continue making memories with her children, husband and friends.

“Every hour and a half, I get full of dialysis,” explained Spore.

Her husband connected the tube to a dialysis machine at home to help. She would fall asleep, but she woke up as the treatment began to drain the fluid.

“That part hurts very much,” she said. “I woke up four times every night for four months.”

Despite the discomfort that happens every night, she chose to go to dialysis while sleeping to avoid any confusion in her work and family life. Spore is the mother of two adult children and two grandmothers.

Meanwhile, Heidi Patrick was tested for several months and found out that she was also a match with another patient, a child who needs a kidney.

The doctor arranged for a “donor swap.” This is the process of pairing up compatible donors with other patients in need.

“On the day of the surgery, Heidi went early to donate his kidneys. The child's donor was, in turn, a match for me,” explained Spore.

“Heidi has actually changed two lives by making donations.”

Every year, Spore and Patrick celebrate “Kidney Leather.” They enjoy self-care like massages and nail polish and spend quality time together. This day marks the gift of their lives and friendship.

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