绿茶直播

During the winter of her junior year at 绿茶直播, Aaliyah Abdi 鈥�23 received shocking and unimaginable news.

Her body was starting to reject a kidney transplant from when she was 14 years old.

There hadn鈥檛 been any problems in the seven years since Abdi had received the kidney, donated by her mother. But suddenly, Abdi鈥檚 doctor was telling her that she鈥檇 have to either go on dialysis鈥攁n ongoing medical treatment to clean a person鈥檚 blood amid kidney failure鈥攐r get another kidney transplant soon.

鈥淚t was just a sporadic rejection,鈥� Abdi said. Her first kidney transplant was needed because of an autoimmune disease. But this time, 鈥渢here wasn鈥檛 any underlying issue with my health that would have warranted the rejection of my kidney. It just happened. The doctor said that鈥檚 just what happens to some people.鈥�

Abdi hoped to find a kidney donor quickly. Doing so would mean she could skip the exhausting and time-consuming dialysis treatment. However, she didn鈥檛 have any immediate options. Abdi鈥檚 mother had already donated for her first kidney transplant鈥攕he couldn鈥檛 donate again. And the rest of Abdi鈥檚 family members and close friends were unable to donate for other reasons.

鈥淎 handful of people were willing to,鈥� she said. But when these prospective kidney donors did a Mayo Clinic online assessment to see if they were eligible, each one was rejected.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥極h wow, that kind of sucks. But it is what it is,鈥欌�� Abdi said.

With her family and friends unable to donate, Abdi was unsure of who to ask next.

What she didn鈥檛 know at the time was that one of her teachers at Augsburg also had kidney donation on her mind. For years, French instructor Sharon Gerlach had felt called to donate a kidney, but she didn鈥檛 know anybody who needed one. Although Abdi was in her second semester of Gerlach鈥檚 class, she had not shared her health struggles with her teacher. Neither of them knew what the other was thinking.

鈥業t was on my heart鈥�

Gerlach had thought about kidney donation since 2009, when she read a newspaper article about the need for these life-saving procedures. 鈥淚t just kind of struck me as something I鈥檇 like to do someday, if I knew somebody and if I was a match,鈥� she said.

Then, Gerlach鈥檚 mother was diagnosed with kidney disease. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃ell, if my mom needed a kidney someday, I鈥檓 totally on board with that.鈥� But her kidney disease was not progressive, so she never had a need for dialysis, and she never needed a kidney donor at any time,鈥� Gerlach said.

Still, reflecting on her mother鈥檚 diagnosis got Gerlach thinking more and more about kidney donation. She contemplated it for years, saving articles on the topic whenever she鈥檇 come across them. In 2021, Gerlach even considered donating a kidney anonymously.

鈥淚t was still really on my radar and on my heart,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was just thinking, 鈥業鈥檓 healthy now, so now might be a good time to donate a kidney.鈥欌��

She asked her husband about whether she should donate anonymously, but he was concerned the procedure might affect her ability to care for their youngest son. He suggested she hold off for a few years, and since she didn鈥檛 personally know anyone who needed a kidney donor, Gerlach set the idea aside for a while.

Being a student on dialysis

In March 2022, a few months after Abdi鈥檚 body began to reject her kidney, her health got worse, and she could no longer put off dialysis treatment. She began to go to a dialysis facility three times a week, for three to four hours at a time. After each appointment, she鈥檇 feel completely drained.

鈥淚t was hard,鈥� Abdi said. 鈥淒ialysis is so taxing on your body. Even though you鈥檙e sitting in a chair for three or four hours, it feels like you ran a mile. You鈥檙e out of breath; you鈥檙e so exhausted because your blood is being pulled out and drained and cleaned.鈥�

As a psychology major approaching her senior year, Abdi worked hard to keep up with her schoolwork amid dealing with her health issues. She scheduled classes around her dialysis appointments, and she worked to finish her homework during the first hours of dialysis, before she became too tired to do it.

鈥淚t took a lot of time management,鈥� she said. 鈥淥h my gosh, it was so much time management.鈥�

The exhaustion also affected Abdi鈥檚 life outside of class. 鈥淚 felt like I missed out on a lot of things like just going out to a movie at night or going out to dinner because I would be so tired,鈥� she said.

For the most part, Abdi kept her struggles to herself. Most people at school didn鈥檛 know she was on dialysis, she said. If she had to miss class because of an appointment, she鈥檇 usually just tell the professor she had 鈥渁 medical issue鈥� without getting into details.

鈥淚 would almost try to create two different versions of myself. There was my 鈥榙ialysis and sick me,鈥� which a lot of my family and closest friends were involved with. But my 鈥榮chool self鈥� was completely normal,鈥� Abdi said.

Then, one day in late April, she was so drained from dialysis that she wasn鈥檛 going to make it to French class. She emailed Gerlach.

鈥淚 just told her flat out, because I was tired of holding it. I was kind of at my last point,鈥� Abdi said. 鈥淚 told her, 鈥業鈥檓 not coming to class because I鈥檓 exhausted from dialysis鈥欌�攁nd that鈥檚 what kind of sparked the whole conversation.鈥�

Making the connection

The weekend before she received Abdi鈥檚 email, Gerlach had decided to pray about kidney donation.

鈥淚 really felt like I should donate a kidney soon because I knew I was in good health and I鈥檝e got the support network, and you never know what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� Gerlach said. 鈥淚 remember, I just decided to pray about it. I鈥檓 a person of faith, and I kind of thought, 鈥楪od, if you鈥檙e going to place this on my heart, open that door for me, or just make it clear if this is something I should pursue.鈥欌��

When Gerlach got to campus on Monday, she saw Abdi鈥檚 email about dialysis. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥楧ialysis? I know what that means,鈥欌�� Gerlach said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檇 had no clue. Aaliyah had never given any indication that she had any serious health problems or any kidney issues at all.鈥�

Gerlach responded with sympathy for what Abdi was going through and asked if this meant she needed a kidney donor. Gerlach wasn鈥檛 offering, but she wanted to know more about Abdi鈥檚 situation.

鈥淲hen I saw her ask that,鈥� Abdi said, 鈥淚 was like, 鈥楽top! Do you know somebody?鈥� It was such a weird email thread because I just kind of woke up. I was like, 鈥楴o, she can鈥檛 be talking like this.鈥欌��

The email connection moved Gerlach, too. 鈥淚t really hit me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 honestly wanted to say 鈥榶es鈥� right away, but I had to check with my family first.鈥�

Gerlach took time to research the process of kidney donation and to discuss the implications with her husband.

In the meantime, Abdi had her final exam for Gerlach鈥檚 class. As Abdi was leaving the classroom, Gerlach stopped her to say she鈥檇 been thinking about her ever since their email exchange.

Gerlach recalled, 鈥淪he kind of looked at me and asked, 鈥楬ave you thought about it? Would you be willing to donate?鈥欌��

But Gerlach was still in the process of discussing it with her family. 鈥淭hat was really hard to have her ask me directly and not be able to say 鈥榶es鈥� right away because I really wanted to,鈥� Gerlach said.

After that conversation, Abdi assumed Gerlach would not donate her kidney. She was disappointed, but she understood. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥極kay, no worries,鈥欌�� Abdi said, 鈥渁nd I left that school year, my junior year, thinking, 鈥業t鈥檚 okay. I鈥檓 just going to have to keep doing dialysis.鈥欌��

Saying 鈥榶es鈥�

Several weeks later, while Abdi was on campus doing research with the McNair Scholars Program, she got an email from Gerlach.

It said Gerlach wanted to donate her kidney.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥極h my god, no way,鈥欌�� Abdi said. She didn鈥檛 want to get her hopes up because her other potential donors had turned out to be ineligible.

鈥淏ut then,鈥� Abdi said, 鈥淚 hopped on a Zoom call with Sharon. She was telling me the story of how she understood and how kidney disease had affected her life.鈥�

Abdi could barely believe what she was hearing. 鈥淚t felt like she needed to do it. And I was like, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e joking with me right now. You鈥檙e joking!鈥欌��

During that Zoom call, Gerlach and Abdi shared their blood types and discovered they wouldn鈥檛 be a match for a direct donation, Gerlach said.

However, they decided to proceed because, if eligible, Gerlach could donate on Abdi鈥檚 behalf, putting Abdi in line to receive a kidney from another living donor. The benefit of connecting with a living donor, , is that the recipient can have their transplant sooner than if they were on a waitlist for a kidney from a deceased donor.

Abdi sent Gerlach the link to the Mayo Clinic online questionnaire to see if she was eligible鈥攁nd Gerlach passed. Then, Gerlach had to participate in a couple of phone interviews followed by two days of in-person testing at the clinic in Rochester to confirm her eligibility to donate.

On June 29, Gerlach was officially approved to donate her kidney on Abdi鈥檚 behalf.

When Abdi heard this news, the donation finally felt real. 鈥淲hen Sharon told me again鈥攁fter she did all the Mayo Clinic things鈥攖hat she was accepted, I cried,鈥� Abdi said. 鈥淚 think I was walking somewhere when I got the email, and I just stopped. I sat down, and I cried.鈥�

Abdi鈥檚 family and friends were relieved and overjoyed, too. 鈥淭hey saw me struggle for a long time,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 was so happy and thankful,鈥� Abdi continued. 鈥淗ow could I not be thankful? It鈥檚 somebody who鈥檚 not related to me, who had just met me over the course of a year and, out of the kindness of her heart, was able to do something so selfless and give me another chance of just living a normal life.鈥�

The donation process

Gerlach鈥檚 kidney would be given to someone on the National Kidney Registry waitlist, and, in exchange for this donation, Abdi would be placed on the waitlist to be matched with a living kidney donor.

Gerlach鈥檚 donation surgery was scheduled for August 11 at Mayo Clinic. She wanted to be able to recover in time to teach the Fall 2022 semester.

鈥淚 figured that would give me at least three weeks to recover before classes started. That was kind of my criteria,鈥� she said.

The surgery went smoothly. When Gerlach woke up in her hospital room, she had an email from the son of the person who received her kidney.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e donating like that, you may not ever know who you donated to because they keep each person鈥檚 confidentiality,鈥� Gerlach said. 鈥淚 had signed a release saying it鈥檚 fine to share my contact information with my recipient, and I didn鈥檛 necessarily expect to hear back from them.鈥�

But the email meant a lot to her. 鈥淚t said, 鈥楾hank you for saving my father鈥檚 life,鈥欌�� Gerlach said.

Gerlach stayed in Rochester for a few nights after her surgery, then continued her recovery at home. The process went quicker than she expected. 鈥淚 felt up to driving after 10 days, and the first place I came to, actually, was a faculty workshop at Augsburg,鈥� she said.

鈥淭wo weeks to the day after my surgery, I was feeling so good I decided to go to the State Fair,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 did get tired more quickly and had to sit down to take a little nap, but I had a great day.鈥�

Eventually, Gerlach fully recovered without any problems. 鈥淪ome people wonder, are there lasting effects of donating a kidney? For me, none at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey did all kinds of follow-up tests on me. You can live perfectly healthy with good kidney function with one kidney.鈥�

A long wait

Meanwhile, Gerlach stayed in touch with Abdi, who was waiting for a donor match from the kidney exchange.

The wait was longer than anticipated. Abdi had tried to work with her medical team to get a kidney transplant around the same time as Gerlach鈥檚 donation surgery, but another unrelated health problem came up. Abdi had to be pulled off the kidney waitlist until she was healthy enough for surgery.

鈥淭his other health issue affected my eye,鈥� Abdi said, 鈥渁nd it just kind of happened randomly. So, my kidney team was like, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to pump the brakes on you.鈥欌��

In November 2022, her doctor gave her the green light for transplant surgery and she got back on the waitlist. But it would still be months before she鈥檇 get matched with a donor.

鈥淚 had waited for so long already,鈥� Abdi recalled. 鈥淚 was trying to get that kidney so that I could finish off the rest of my senior year feeling OK.鈥�

In March 2023, she finally got the call. She鈥檇 been matched with a donor. Her transplant was scheduled for April 19 at Mayo Clinic.

Abdi would have to stay in Rochester for two to three weeks after surgery for recovery and follow-up tests. Determined to graduate on time, she emailed her professors so they could help her plan to finish her schoolwork before the surgery or remotely.

In those emails, Abdi finally told her professors that she鈥檇 be having a kidney transplant. They offered a lot of support, she said. 鈥淭hey were like, 鈥楥ongratulations! We didn鈥檛 even know you were dealing with that.鈥欌��

On April 19, Abdi headed to Mayo Clinic for her surgery鈥攂ut she was feeling sick.

After preoperative testing, Abdi鈥檚 doctor told her she had a high fever and could not go through with the transplant.

鈥淚 was fighting,鈥� Abdi said, 鈥渁nd I was so sad that day when they said I couldn鈥檛 get the kidney.鈥�

鈥楽uch a sweet gift鈥�

When Abdi got back to Minneapolis, she felt deeply disappointed. 鈥淚t was like the wind was kicked out of me,鈥� she said. She鈥檇 have to wait to get matched with another donor, and she didn鈥檛 know how long that would take.

鈥淚t was so sad,鈥� Abdi said. 鈥淚 had already said goodbye to all my friends and family and my teachers. So, when I came back, everyone was super sad. But I was like, 鈥業t is what it is. I鈥檒l get a call eventually, when it鈥檚 my time.鈥欌��

With most of her schoolwork done, Abdi mostly just rested and spent time with her family until she could graduate. She also continued dialysis.

On May 3, Abdi proudly walked in Augsburg鈥檚 commencement ceremony with her family and Gerlach supporting her.

Then, the next day, Abdi got a call from her medical team. They told her she鈥檇 been matched with another donor.

鈥淭hey got me a kidney. It was such a sweet gift,鈥� she said. 鈥淵es, I graduated on dialysis and with all my health issues, but to be done with it during the same year was such a gift for me. I was so thankful for that.鈥�

Abdi鈥檚 transplant surgery was scheduled for May 30, and in the week leading up to it, she essentially quarantined herself. She didn鈥檛 want to get sick again.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥楴obody come see me, and I鈥檓 not going out. I鈥檓 not trying to get sick this time.鈥� I was not playing,鈥� she said.

On May 30, Abdi returned to Mayo Clinic and her surgery went well. She recalled, 鈥淚 woke up and asked, 鈥楾hey gave me the kidney, right?鈥� and the nurse told me, 鈥榊eah, you got a kidney. You鈥檙e all good; you鈥檙e all fine.鈥� And then I just started crying. I was so happy.鈥�

Abdi鈥檚 recovery went smoothly, and she stayed in touch with Gerlach throughout the process.

She also contacted her donor to express her gratitude. 鈥淚 loved having my Zoom conversation with him,鈥� Abdi said. 鈥淢uch like Sharon, he felt like it was something he needed to do. He was not donating on anybody鈥檚 behalf. He just did it. 鈥� Nobody technically had any ties where they had to do it for somebody else. They just did it, and then I ended up with a new kidney. That鈥檚 just very sweet.鈥�

Moving forward

To Gerlach, the donation experience felt impactful for several reasons.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of anyone I would rather donate my kidney for than Aaliyah. She鈥檚 got so much potential and so much life ahead of her. I was just really, really glad that I could help someone like her,鈥� Gerlach said. 鈥淎nd the other part of the story is knowing that I helped two people kind of get their normal lives back, because we did the exchange. That was really meaningful to me.鈥�

Gerlach encourages anyone interested in donating a kidney to seriously look into it. 鈥淚f someone feels like they might be willing to do it, I would say definitely consider it. Definitely be open to it if you鈥檙e in good health and if you have the support. It鈥檚 something you can do to save somebody鈥檚 life, and there鈥檚 so many people on the waitlist,鈥� she said.

鈥淣ot everybody鈥檚 called to do everything,鈥� Gerlach said, 鈥渂ut I鈥檝e been blessed with really good health, and so this is something that I could do. It鈥檚 not often that you can do something that will save someone鈥檚 life. That鈥檚 pretty rare.鈥�

Abdi has been in good health since the transplant. She said she鈥檚 working at two mental health clinics in the Twin Cities and has just been enjoying life.

鈥淢y kidney is working great,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y energy levels have increased, my appetite has increased, and I feel like my outlook has changed, too.鈥�

Abdi added that she hopes students who hear her story will be inspired to be more open about their own struggles. She made the personal decision to keep her health issues to herself for a long time, she said, 鈥渂ut everybody at school was really sweet and supportive of me once I was able to tell them.鈥�

鈥淚t can be very difficult to share the things that are affecting you with other people aside from your immediate family and friends,鈥� Abdi said. 鈥淏ut the more I spoke about it, I realized, the better I felt. Just be more open to any relationship you have and to your own personal story. Because if you need something, the person that might be able to give it to you might just be teaching you.鈥�

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Top image: French instructor Sharon Gerlach听补苍诲 Aaliyah Abdi 鈥�23聽in the quad on Augsburg’s campus (Courtesy photo)