A Gift Given Freely: Mia’s Living Kidney Donation Journey at Dell Seton

Mia has always found joy in giving back. Whether volunteering in classrooms in female prisons or supporting her community, she’s drawn to service. But in early 2024, her sense of generosity took a remarkable turn.

It started with a conversation in March 2025, when a friend’s father donated a kidney to a stranger. Mia remembers being stunned. “Why would he do that?” she asked her friend. The answer stuck with her: he had read an article, felt called to help, and simply followed that call. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Mia said. “The more I read, the more I asked myself—not why would I do this—but why wouldn’t I?”

She considered liver donation, but ultimately chose kidney donation. One night, after hours of research and reflection, she signed up through the National Kidney Registry. When the site asked her to choose a hospital, Mia selected Dell Seton Medical Center. The reputation of Dell Seton’s academic medical team—and recommendations from trusted nurses in her network—made it an easy choice.

From the very first blood tests to the full medical workup, Mia was impressed. “Everyone was so kind,” she said. “Even the evaluation day felt special—it was exciting. I felt honored just to be considered.”

In March, she got the call from her transplant coordinator, Katie. Mia was cleared to donate. She burst into tears.

“I’ve never felt so honored,” she said.

By the next day, she was matched with a 17-year-old recipient. Her surgery was scheduled for May 5—just ten days later. The countdown began.

Driven to be in peak health, Mia focused on wellness like never before. “I wanted to make sure my kidney was the best it could be,” she said. In pre-op that Monday morning, the reality of it all hit. “It’s a strange thing to volunteer for surgery,” she said. Her nurse, a former Navy serviceman, helped calm her nerves in those final minutes. Then came the overhead announcement: an honor walk was underway for a living donor. Mia rang the bell, received a fist bump from her surgeon, Dr. Turgeon, and was wheeled into the operating room.

Three hours later, she woke up—pain-free, amazed at the small incisions. “It felt like I’d time-traveled,” she said.

But her kidney wasn’t safely in the recipient just yet. A storm had grounded the courier’s flight out of Austin. The kidney was at risk of expiring. Thanks to the courier sprinting across JFK airport, they made the connection just in time. Mia’s kidney made it to the recipient.

The next day, Mia took a walk—just ten hours after her operation. Mia was discharged just 36 hours after surgery. By Thursday, she was walking around her neighborhood. By Friday, she was back at work. Two weeks later, her follow-up confirmed that she was healing beautifully.

But the most powerful transformations were internal.

The recipient was exactly ten years younger than Mia. “Ten years ago, I was leaving London and starting my life in LA,” she wrote in a letter to the young recipient. “I hope this gift is the start of your new beginning too.”

“You change after something like this,” Mia said. “I’m more present. I appreciate the little things. I bring more kindness to strangers. It wasn’t about recognition—it was about doing something purely good.”

Her donation has already helped another local patient, thanks to the way the kidney donor network works. She’s also voluntarily participating in a research study through Dell Medical School, helping future donors by contributing MRI data that may one day lead to new methods for identifying eligible donation candidates.

The hardest part? Not knowing how the recipient is doing. “Writing that letter was cathartic,” Mia said. “Even if she never reads it.”

Still, she trusts the signs: a red light at Hartford Street, the same city her kidney was headed to. The ladybugs that seemed to surround her during the process—one even landed on the window just before she was discharged. Since then, she hasn’t seen another.

“This journey has brought me closer to who I am and I am so thankful for the support of my husband who was with me every step of the way” she said. “If I had another kidney to give, I would.”

Published: June 24th, 2025