Six months ago the husband of our cousin, Matt Lee, shared that he was in unexpected renal failure. Matt is now dependent on dialysis and on the kidney transplant list. The average wait time to receive a donor kidney can be eight years. He and his family have a two yr old son and a newborn son, born May 2025.
Immediately upon hearing the news, my sister, Tiffany, and I applied to be a living donor and completed a series of assessments and testing. We found out we were both matches for Matt! It was recommended by the transplant team to complete further testing to help in their decision of who would be the primary donor and Tiffany had one specific biomarker making her the better candidate. The specialists and surgeons were surprised about the sensitivity of their HLA tissue typing since Tiffany and Matt are not blood related. But we believe it is God’s sovereign plan that had this match in place.
Without hesitation, Tiffany agreed to be a living donor. The following months she continued with further evaluation and testing.
Tiffany and Matt are scheduled for surgery on September 30th and will take place at the transplant center hospital in San Francisco, CA. Tiffany will remain in California for two weeks undergoing post operative care. Phillip, Tiffany’s boyfriend, and Perry, her brother-in-law, will be accompanying her during this time to provide support and care for Tiffany, Matt, his wife, Erica, and their two sons.
Although the surgery is covered by insurance, there are significant costs that comes out at the expense of both the donor and recipient. Some of those expenses include travel (airfare and car rental), hotel stay, lost wages/income, pre and post operative appointments, post operative care and support.
As many of you know Tiffany is one of the most generous, thoughtful, and selfless individuals, prioritizing her relationships. You and many others have been a recipient of her kindness and love. Would you consider contributing to Tiffany’s expenses to ease the financial burden? We would love for you to share in Tiffany’s selfless act of being a living donor and giving Matt a longer and healthier life.
