My Kidney Donation Story: Christy Allen

My story began in the beginning of 2021, when I was scrolling on Facebook and saw that a family friend had posted about her daughter needing a kidney. I reached out to ask about the process of being tested to see if I was a match.  

The friend, Dolores, put me in touch with Piedmont Atlanta. Because I had recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure, I was immediately told I was not a candidate for testing. I let Dolores know and told her I would be praying for them and would share the post for her. Luckily, in March of 2021, her daughter received a kidney from her sister.

In January of 2023, I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw that Dolores herself needed a kidney. I reached out and let her know I would be praying for her and would be sharing her post, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to be tested due to my blood pressure. She asked me to please reach out to the Piedmont transplant team again because the need for kidney donors had increased so much that they had loosened the guidelines, and it would be worth a shot to try again.  

I was so excited but also trying not to get my hopes up as I knew it was a long shot! I did the first two tests at home: the 24-hour urine and the blood pressure monitoring. I passed those and moved on to the next step: scheduling a day of testing at the hospital. In mid-February, my daughter and I spent an entire day at Piedmont Atlanta for testing. I left that day feeling even more hopeful that I would be a match. The people were just wonderful, and I wanted so badly to help Dolores.  

As the weeks went by, my case went before the board, and they determined that I needed to lower my hemoglobin A1C (blood sugar) and lose some weight to ensure the donation wouldn’t put me at risk.

In April, I found out I wasn’t a direct match for Dolores, which devastated me because I knew she was about to go on dialysis. I was so very upset and felt I had let her down. But I am not a quitter, and I do not give up easily—I was on a mission to help Dolores however I could.  

I called Piedmont again and told them I would do whatever it took to get her a kidney—I was all in. I chose to do a paired donation, which I had never heard of before. The things that are possible simply amaze me.   

I got started losing weight and getting my A1C under control. Once that was done, my case could be reviewed by the board again to determine if I was approved for donation.

I had blood work done on my birthday, August 4, and felt very good about it. Sure enough, I checked my My Chart three days later and my A1C was lower! I very impatiently waited for the call from Piedmont and it finally came the next day: my labs were great and my case would be presented to the board again the next day.  

I had a good feeling when the phone rang and the caller ID said Piedmont. When they told me I had been approved to donate, tears of joy rolled down my face.

The next step was getting us registered with the National Kidney Registry to find us both a match. Within a week we both had a match and surgery dates were set.  

Our surgeries were originally set for October 4, with me in the morning and Dolores in the afternoon. Unfortunately, my surgery had to be postponed to October 11 due to my recipient. I was very bummed, but as long as Dolores got her kidney, which had always been the ultimate goal, I could wait to donate mine. Plus, this change meant I could be with Dolores for her surgery, which made us both happy.  

My surgery went great and I was sent home the next day.  I honestly expected the recovery to be much worse than it was. I was out of work for three weeks. The hardest part of the recovery was the fatigue—naps are still my very best friend! I’m a month past my one-year mark, and feel better than I ever have in my life. I may have given the gift of life, but I feel like my life was given back to me in a sense. I love telling this story and hope that it helps others understand the living donation process and how rewarding it is to be able to donate.

About the Author

Christy Allen is an established insurance agent and proud wife and mom of two. She takes pride in helping others while staying deeply rooted in her small hometown of Ball Ground. With a love for family, friends, and her community, she cherishes each moment spent creating memories with loved ones.