In January 2011, my friends convinced me to go out after I’d had my baby. We went to see a local band at a hotel bar, and we were having a great time. That night, my best friend DJ told me he had been diagnosed with FSGS kidney disease, the same illness that had led his mother and uncle to get transplants. I jokingly told him, “If you ever need a kidney, I’ve got two good ones.” I didn’t know then how true that would become.
Courtesy of Danielle Bryant
Fast forward to September 2017. I saw a fundraiser for DJ’s kidney transplant on Facebook. I immediately messaged him and his wife, Kari, saying, “I’ll give you my kidney.” They tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted. DJ had been there for me countless times over the years, and I couldn’t let anyone else step in if I could help.
Courtesy of Danielle Bryant
My husband, Justin, had never even met DJ, but when I texted to tell him, his only response was, “Okay.” When they finally met, he said, “These are my kind of people, and from that point on, we spent nearly every Monday night having family dinners together.
Courtesy of Danielle Bryant
Testing began in March 2018. At my first appointment, 17 tubes of blood were drawn, and I fainted, which scared DJ badly. But I wasn’t backing out. Just a few weeks later, the phone rang with the news that I was a match.
I sobbed in my kitchen. We told DJ with a surprise sign during a “photo shoot,” and he was in total shock.
Over the summer, I went through more tests. By July, the surgery was scheduled for August 24. The pre-op process was intense, filled with blood tests, scans, and what felt like endless questions.
The morning of surgery, I panicked until they let me see DJ.I looked at the team and said, “Alright, we’re going for it.”
I woke up hours later, sore but relieved. Seeing DJ walking down the hall to visit me the next day made every bit of pain worth it. Recovery was rough, but two weeks later, he was already feeling better than me
Just weeks after surgery, DJ and Kari welcomed their third child. In November, we walked side by side in the National Kidney Foundation Walk, both in tears, knowing we had made it. By our six-month checkup, DJ’s kidney function had jumped from 11% to 60%, and my doctor said you couldn’t even tell I’d donated.
This journey changed my life. If my best friend needed a kidney again tomorrow, I’d do it without hesitation. Sometimes, you just share your spare.
