WAUKESHA, Wis. — April kicks off Donate Lifemonth to encourage people to register to be an organ donor. But a Waukesha woman did not just register, she donated her kidney to a complete stranger.
A Waukesha woman told TMJ4 that a twist of fate started her journey to become a kidney donor.
“I survived a near-fatal car accident, and that kind of catapulted my journey to be where I am right now. I truly believe that God spared me to do something bigger,” said Andrea Weisman.
The mother—and now kidney donor—said in 2023, she thought she was going to be helping a friend who needed a kidney.
Weisman went through the process ready to donate her kidney but found out they were not a match.
“That really devastated me and it really weighed heavily on my heart, so I thought what I could do to help,” said Weisman.
But instead of just stopping after trying to be her friend’s donor, Weisman decided this is what she needed to do. Right before Christmas, she donated her kidney to a stranger.
“I went in to get my testing and give it altruistically and give it to whoever needed it,” said Weisman.
That need is huge according to Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin’s transplant surgeon Dr. Ty Dunn. She said diabetes and high blood pressure are driving the need for kidneys. There are currently 90,000 people waiting to get a kidney in the country. It is the number one needed organ.
“We have a lot of patients that are starting dialysis or who are starting dialysis and need an opportunity to feel better and live longer. Transplant offers an opportunity for that,” said Dunn.
Watch how a near-death experience led a Waukesha woman to save a life:
She was Weisman's doctor, and said there are now protections in place for people who want to give an organ, but are worried their own family member might need one in the future.
“If, for example, their husband or their child needed a kidney transplant. If people donate altruistically like Andrea did, she would name five people that could receive a kidney if they should ever need a kidney,” said Dunn.
This year Andrea was named to theNational Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin board and now advocates for others to give their "spare."
”I love being part of something that is much bigger than me,” said Andrea.
Andrea knows her kidney went to a retired school principal in Florida who is also the mother to five children.
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