What started with an Iowa woman seeing if her kidney was a match for a friend's mom, ended with her realizing something about herself. "I was like, 'Well, I would give to anybody if they were in need of it,'" said Jill Hopper. "And so I did." Hopper's kidney transplant was one of 52 transplants done by living donors in Iowa so far this year. She started looking into becoming a living donor in March 2021. By that summer, she was deemed healthy enough and underwent surgery."I don't know who it went to," said Hopper. "I just know that they found somebody that was a match somewhere across the country and they have my kidney now." Hopper is what's known as an Altruistic Donor. "They don't care who it goes to," explained Heather Butterfield, the Iowa Donor Network's director of strategic communications. "They just want to save the life of someone else and that is so incredibly selfless." The Iowa Donor Network said from the start of 2021 through November, 264 transplant surgeries have occurred. The organization says a majority of those donations come from people who died.Still, there's a gap in numbers the Iowa Donor Network and others hope to see lessened."In the U.S., there are about 107,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant," said Butterfield. "And yet on an annual basis, there may be 38,000 to 40,000 transplants performed." It's why there's a need for people willing to become donors, even living ones. "There's a series of tests that have to be done to make that the potential living donor is healthy enough," said Butterfield. "And then also to find out who they might be a potential match for." It's what Hopper did, which is why this holiday season, she's hoping her story will help others choose to give the gift of life. "I think a lot of people just think they can't do it and really, a lot of people out there can. If you have a portion of the healthy population give a kidney, we could cut that waiting list down in a heartbeat," Hopper said.
What started with an Iowa woman seeing if her kidney was a match for a friend's mom, ended with her realizing something about herself.
"I was like, 'Well, I would give to anybody if they were in need of it,'" said Jill Hopper. "And so I did."
Hopper's kidney transplant was one of 52 transplants done by living donors in Iowa so far this year.
She started looking into becoming a living donor in March 2021. By that summer, she was deemed healthy enough and underwent surgery.
"I don't know who it went to," said Hopper. "I just know that they found somebody that was a match somewhere across the country and they have my kidney now."
Hopper is what's known as an Altruistic Donor.
"They don't care who it goes to," explained Heather Butterfield, the Iowa Donor Network's director of strategic communications. "They just want to save the life of someone else and that is so incredibly selfless."
The Iowa Donor Network said from the start of 2021 through November, 264 transplant surgeries have occurred. The organization says a majority of those donations come from people who died.
Still, there's a gap in numbers the Iowa Donor Network and others hope to see lessened.
"In the U.S., there are about 107,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant," said Butterfield. "And yet on an annual basis, there may be 38,000 to 40,000 transplants performed."
It's why there's a need for people willing to become donors, even living ones.
"There's a series of tests that have to be done to make that the potential living donor is healthy enough," said Butterfield. "And then also to find out who they might be a potential match for."
It's what Hopper did, which is why this holiday season, she's hoping her story will help others choose to give the gift of life.
"I think a lot of people just think they can't do it and really, a lot of people out there can. If you have a portion of the healthy population give a kidney, we could cut that waiting list down in a heartbeat," Hopper said.
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