Post has been through it before. In high school, she was diagnosed with kidney failure after a routine physical showed significant lost kidney function due to a complication from a birth defect. Post’s dad was her living donor then. She was 13 and thrived for almost two decades.

Fast forward and another routine exam given over her lunch hour revealed Post, now 50 years old, needed to go on dialysis again. She was devastated. At the time, her daughter Sophia was only 5 years old.

After trying to work, Post was exhausted and had to go on disability. She depleted her savings while waiting months until her first disability check. What helped her through nearly five years of dialysis? Post says it was her daughter Sophia, who is now 16, and her church family at College Park Church in Normal.

“They helped me with my daughter, helped me financially every once in a while, if I needed help, just prayed with me, yeah.”

Finding hope through community and faith

Many days filled with fear, anxiety and worry and nights spent hooked up to an at-home dialysis machine convinced April to follow through on a suggestion from friend Terri Thede. Thede had been part of a six-person living donation chain in 2017 and suggested her friend make a video to share on social media. For Thede, a powerful video on social media convinced her to become a living donor for a total stranger.

Thede forwarded a video Post made to friend Kelly Stogner, who at the time was an executive assistant at Heartland Community College in Normal. The video touched her.

“I could see myself in her and I could see her as a mom, making the best of a situation that she had no control over and just wanting to live the best life she could for herself and her daughter, and I thought if I could help, why wouldn’t I?”

Then Stogner learned her then-boss, college president Keith Cornille had been a living donor for a colleague in Wisconsin and two others at the college also donated their kidneys. All were doing great, so Stogner decided to go through testing to see if she could be a match.

Stogner told a few close friends and family and asked for their prayers as she moved through the testing, including blood work, scans and a psychological evaluation. Wasn’t she worried about what might happen in the future while living with only one kidney?

“I don’t do a lot of ‘what ifs’ like some people say, ‘What if you need it later? What if somebody in your family needs it later?’ I trust that God will take care of that when the time comes. And it might not ever happen, so I can make a difference now with somebody who needs it. So why wouldn’t I?” 

A Match Made in Heaven

When Stogner learned she was a match for Post in October 2019, she and Thede decided the best way to share the good news – after a Sunday church service. Stogner says it made sense to do a big reveal. 

Her church had been with her along the journey, and some people had tested and weren’t approved to be a donor. So it was very much an answer to the prayer for the entire congregation. So for them to experience that as well I think was exciting for them.” 

Living donors incur no cost from the testing, surgery or follow-up appointments because it’s covered by the recipient’s insurance. Stogner did have to pay for iron infusions when she learned she was anemic.

The transplant team was really the dream team she says. Everyone made her feel like a V.I.P.

“I was treated, I feel, like a princess in the hospital. Everyone was very kind and came to check on me to make sure everything was going very well. I had a great experience.”

As for the surgery, Stogner called it, “one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.”

“I was hiking within two weeks. I had flown on a vacation two weeks after and hiked in Arizona. It didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do and what I normally would do.” 

Six months after her surgery at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois, Post joined Stogner for a hike and never felt better. In fact, she recalls almost immediately feeling like a new person after receiving her donated kidney.

“I had so much energy and I was so hungry. When I was on dialysis, I had no appetite. I could hardly eat anything. [After surgery] I was so hungry and so energized. It was awesome.” 

Life after kidney transplant: A fresh start

During those nearly five years waiting for a kidney, Post decided it was time to make the most of the life she had. Despite some limitations, she rallied to return to Illinois State University for a degree in Health IT. After a brief pause for her transplant and recovery in December 2019, Post’s professors let her complete projects later and graduated near the top in her class.

Post says she immediately felt relief from the kind of brain fog that plagued her during dialysis.

“Because I had a clear head, I made the Dean’s List. (laughs) And, I had never done that because now I could actually think and I actually had energy to do it.” 

A full recovery took a couple of months. During that time, Post found her new normal and slowly allowed herself to feel hopeful about the future. Since her transplant, Post walks regularly, bought a house and now works as a case manager for troubled teens in Bloomington, Illinois. She feels blessed.

“I mean, I don’t know what I would do if I passed away with my daughter. I know people can be on dialysis for a long time, but they do not have a quality of life. They don’t,” Post said dabbing tears. 

More than 100,000 men, women and children in the United States are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. Each day, between 13 to 17 people die because the organ they need is not donated in time.

Learn more about organ and tissue donation and sign up as a donor at www.organdonor.gov.

Learn how you might become a living donor by calling the living donation line at OSF Saint Francis at (309) 624-5433.

Organ donation fast facts

• In Illinois, approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. The majority of these patients need a kidney, and about 300 Illinoisans die each year while waiting.
• In Michigan, more than 3,000 residents are currently waiting for transplants.
• Urgency: Every eight minutes, another person is added nationally to the list.
• Lives saved: One organ donor can save up to eight lives.
• Impact: A single donor can save and heal more than 75 lives through tissue donation.
• Deaths: 13 people die each day waiting for a transplant.
• The transplant program at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria is considered the largest in downstate Illinois.
• The kidney transplant program at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has performed more than 1,600 transplants since the program started in 1985.
• The pancreas program started in 2002 and has performed 69 pancreas transplants to date.
• The heart transplant program was reestablished in the fall of 2019 and offers both heart transplants and ventricular assist device (VAD) implants that help pump blood from the lower chambers of your heart to the      rest of your body.
• To date, the program has performed 38 heart transplants and 60 VAD implants.
• How to register: In Illinois, register via the Illinois Secretary of State website, LifeGoesOn.com, or at DMV offices. In Michigan, registration is confidential, available to anyone regardless of age or health and adds a heart sticker to your ID.

Video Clips-Live kidney donor Kelly Stogner

Video Clips-Kidney recipient April Post

Quintin Porter is a walking miracle.

He’s battled back from multiple car accidents, cancer, an irregular heartbeat, a torn rotator cuff, carpal tunnel syndrome and more.

But the journey that brings tears to his eyes started with a random text message from an old flame and ended with him ditching his dialysis equipment for a new kidney. And along the way he learned about the technique that made it possible - paired exchange.

“It was kidney or coffin,” says the 56-year-old from Mahomet, Illinois.

Porter’s journey

A former stand-up comedian and radio executive, Porter has no problem recalling what got him to where he is today.

Toward the end of 2019, Porter says his health was “dragging.” His right arm hurt, and he knew something just wasn’t right.

“Your bloodwork is horrible,” Porter recalls his medical team telling him. “You’re at stage three of kidney disease.”

The father of two then went on dialysis, where an artificial filter does what healthy kidneys normally do – remove fluid and waste from your blood.

“You’re tethered to a machine,” Porter describes. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Dialysis gave Porter plenty of time to take up new hobbies like bird watching or sketching. Or watching the phone ding with the most important text message he would ever get.

Christy reconnects

The text on March 16, 2022, read, “Can you talk?”

It was from someone Porter hadn’t spoken to in nearly four decades: his high school girlfriend in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Christy Stott. The 54-year-old retiree from Rockford, Illinois, wanted to catch up. But more importantly, she had seen Porter’s calls for a life-saving kidney.

“I got you. I’ll give you a kidney,” Porter remembers Stott telling him almost nonchalantly.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Porter adds. “It set off a whole bunch of emotions.”

“Sometimes people reach middle age and feel compelled to do something they’ve never done before,” Stott says. “Run a marathon. Write a novel. Something amazing and unexpected.

“I think that’s what this experience has been for me,” she says.

Porter and Stott seemed to be a perfect match if not for one problem: Stott is petite, and Porter is not. A honeybee and a bear, as Porter puts it.

But OSF HealthCare Mission Partners (employees) in Peoria, Illinois, knew another way.

Paired exchange

The nationwide paired exchange program involves a kidney donor and a recipient who aren’t compatible. When you add another incompatible pair, sometimes a match can be made. The donor from one set can donate to the recipient of the other pair, and vice versa. The swap makes a big X. The willingness of everyone to participate allows the process to get a jumpstart and makes optimal use of living donors. It can also significantly reduce wait time, which can stretch into years.

"This one was unusual,” says Dr. Christopher Johnson, a nephrologist with RenalCare Associates and medical director for OSF Kidney Transplant.

“Usually with kidneys, the size isn't the biggest thing. But in this situation, it was such a big difference that we thought we could get a better match for him. Her kidney was perfect for someone her size. It's going to take someone off dialysis and extend their life," Dr. Johnson says. "She's also blood type O. She's a universal donor. But the kidney was smaller than what would be ideal to the recipient. So we knew if we put this into a national exchange, we're going to benefit someone else.

"A lot of times people ask, ‘what's the blood type?’ And they want to know if they're blood type compatible,” Dr. Johnson adds. “I say this every time. I don't care what your blood type is. If you're not compatible, we'll find a trade. What's important about a kidney donor is that they're healthy and able to donate. No diabetes, healthy weight, no cancer or other problems. If there's an incompatibility, we can find a solution."

A research-minded guy, Porter looked into the paired exchange concept thoroughly before taking the leap.

“These nurses work so hard to give you such good, specific instruction that has derived from thousands of hours of treating actual patients,” he says.

So on October 4, 2022, Porter and Stott went to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. She to give a kidney, which wound up in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. And he to get one, coming from Eris Diaz, who owns his own cooking business nearly 1,300 miles away in Miami, Florida. But when it comes to saving lives, no distance is too far.

“Of course, there is pain,” with transplant surgery and recovery, Diaz, now 25, says. “But the pain was for a good action and for Quintin’s happiness."

Lessons learned

Porter, Stott and Diaz are doing well in 2023 and are urging others to look into organ donation, either living or pledging to do so after you have passed away.

“I’m so happy for Quintin,” Stott says tearfully. “And I’m fine. I’m better for it. If I could donate again, I would.”

"Donation is important because you're sharing your life with people who need it, and that is beautiful," Diaz says.

“It’s a big sacrifice. But if you had the ability to save someone’s life, wouldn’t you?” Porter asks.

Learn more

Nearly 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney transplant. Learn more about how you can make a difference on the OSF HealthCare and Donate Life America websites.

Interview clips - Quintin Porter

Interview clips - Christy Stott

Interview clips - Eris Diaz

Interview clips - Dr. Christopher Johnson

B-roll

Additional B-roll

Quintin Porter demonstrates connecting to dialysis machine - June 4, 2022
Quintin Porter demonstrates disconnecting from dialysis machine - October 3, 2022

Previous coverage

Exploring organ donation
Living organ donation is an ‘amazing gift’
Living organ donation saved my mom's life
The ultimate tribute for the ultimate gift
Making a life-saving decision
‘They are very special people’

As many as 2 billion people worldwide will be exposed to hepatitis B during their lifetime, says David Rzepczynski, MD, a gastroenterologist at OSF HealthCare in Urbana, Illinois. Around 250 million people have chronic inflammation of the liver from hepatitis B or are carriers of the virus without inflammation. And around 890,000 people will die from hepatitis B. Asia and Africa are hepatitis B hotspots, Dr. Rzepczynski says, while the United States doesn’t have it as bad.

The statistics might make eyeballs widen, but Dr. Rzepczynski says they are not a reason to panic.

“The majority of people who get exposed to hepatitis B in the adult age – after age 10 – it’s typically a condition you recover from without chronic inflammation,” he says.

The reason for the optimism? There’s a vaccine for hepatitis B that’s been around since the 1980s.

“There has been an aggressive program of initiating vaccines with kids, sometimes even as young as infants, to have protection,” Dr. Rzepczynski says. “And when those [vaccines] are administered at a young age, it’s a highly effective vaccination. This vaccination has an efficacy of 95%-plus in the general population.”

The three-shot series is sometimes given soon after birth due to concerns that the mother may pass along hepatitis B to their child. But older children and adults can and should get the vaccine, too.

A hepatitis B immune globulin shot (HBIG for short) may also be appropriate in cases of hepatitis B exposure, either in adults or newborns. The particles in the shot attack the virus.

The next best way to avoid hepatitis B is to avoid risky behaviors.

Don’t share needles, toothbrushes or any other object that can transfer bodily fluids. Practice safe sexual relations. And if you’re bleeding, bandage it up right away.

Treatment

Dr. Rzepczynski says blood tests and watching symptoms can gauge how the virus is behaving. That will determine whether the person just needs monitoring. Or the patient may need medical treatment to suppress the virus and prevent cirrhosis of the liver. These medicines are taken by mouth, and side effects are generally not significant. A vaccine to eliminate hepatitis B hasn’t been discovered yet.

Treatment plans for hepatitis B may be life-long.

“If you stop taking the medicine, it’s like taking the brakes off the system,” Dr. Rzepczynski explains. “The virus will end up reactivating. And in fact, that reactivation might cause liver failure because the virus level skyrockets. And your body’s immune system senses that and starts attacking the liver to get rid of the virus. And that can lead to very serious and acute inflammation of the liver.”

Should I test?

Dr. Rzepczynski says a blood test for hepatitis B isn’t something that constantly needs to be on the mind of the average person. But the following people should consider getting tested:

·       People who come from areas of the world with a high prevalence of hepatitis B

·       Pregnant women

·       If you plan to donate blood or organs

·       People who’ve had an exposure to the virus

·       People getting chemotherapy for cancer treatment

That last one is something medical professionals have looked closely at in the last five years.

“Unfortunately, some of these powerful cancer agents also have the ability to affect the immune system in such a way that a person who’s had hepatitis B and maybe even has gotten over it can have a reactivation of hepatitis B when these particular agents are used,” Dr. Rzepczynski says.

In that case, your cancer doctor would alter the treatment to allow it to proceed without the hepatitis B risk.

Be proactive

If you have questions about hepatitis B, want to get the vaccine or think you may have been exposed to the virus, talk to your primary care provider right away. The OSF HealthCare and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites also have information on hepatitis.

Interview clips

Previous coverage

Know your risk for hepatitis

Importance of vaccinations

Common gastrointestinal ailments are a pain, but treatable