Before winter break, Carrie Mauriello-Crozer had told her homeroom classroom that she was going to undergo a kidney transplant surgery. In the beginning, the idea was to give her kidney to her father, but because of certain medical issues she could not donate her kidney to him.

“We (with her father) ended up in The National Kidney Exchange,” said Mauriello-Crozer. “Lots of people are part of it who do not match with the person they want to donate to.”

“What happens is,” she continued. “I donate to someone I match with on behalf of my dad and he gets a kidney from someone he matches with (who did not match with the person they wanted to donate to). It sets up a big chain! So it’s like you’re helping two people! I helped my dad by donating and him getting a kidney in return, and I helped a sweet grandma from Portland, Oregon who received my kidney! Bonus!”

The effect of kidney donation takes a long time to heal and go into effect fully, as after her donation, Mauriello-Crozer was out of school for a good month and a half before she could fully come back. During this month and a half, she could not lift anything heavy as she might hurt herself and open up more than needed.

During this time, her kidney was going through hyperfiltration to make up for the loss of her other kidney, which means that her kidney lost about 20-30% of function after the transplant. Though, she should be fine as having only one kidney doesn’t mean you’ll be in grave danger or anything. But the risks of developing mild high blood pressure, fluid retention, and proteinuria is slightly higher.

I commend Mauriello-Crozer for doing a good deed such as donating her kidney so that someone else can enhance and or save their lives. I can guarantee that she probably went through some sort of pain during her rest period, but just the thought of doing something so life-saving might have made that pain dissipate just a little bit. You may only have one kidney now, but you sure do have a big heart to compensate for the loss.