03/15/2026
"I donated my kidney because I believe everyone deserves the chance to be healthy. Chronic illness doesn’t just affect the person who is sick — it touches every single person who loves them.
My journey toward donation began when a friend’s son needed a kidney transplant. As a mom of seven children, I know that when one member of a family is sick, the entire family feels it. The emotional weight, the uncertainty, the constant concern — it impacts everyone. I wanted to help lift that burden.
When I learned I wasn’t a match for my friend’s son I chose to become a non-directed donor. I donated my kidney without knowing who would receive it. I simply prayed that whoever received my kidney would be given a healthier, fuller life — and that the gift would ripple outward to bless everyone who loved them.
Months after my surgery, I met my recipient. That’s when I learned I had been part of an eighteen-person kidney chain — nine people donated kidneys, and nine people received life-saving transplants. What began as a desire to help one family became something so much bigger than I ever imagined.
I gave one kidney. But together, we changed eighteen lives — and countless more connected to them." - Sue Venteicher, living kidney donor
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