Jane Beckman
I was sitting at my kitchen table one morning and I read an article in the paper about a man who needed a kidney. He walked around Disney World with a t-shirt that said ‘I need a kidney’ and his phone number. Another guy saw the shirt and thought ‘What the heck, maybe I can do that,’ he called the number and after testing, found out he was a perfect match and donated a kidney to complete stranger.
After reading that I thought ‘What the heck, maybe I can do that.’ So I called Saint Louis University Hospital Transplant and talked to Cody, the transplant coordinator.
I realized that my husband and I have been so, so lucky in our lives. In 100 different ways, but especially with our health. I thought about the people who have not been so lucky, and I didn’t feel like it was fair. I wanted to try to give somebody else a lucky break.
Four months later, I donated my kidney to a complete stranger. The recipient’s wife was willing to donate her kidney, but was not a match for her husband, so she donated to a stranger.
Almost two years later, my health is perfect! I’m running half marathon’s and living life exactly as I was before. My recipient, his wife, and her recipient are also all doing very well.
This year I was very honored when Mid-America Transplant funded an Endowed Chair to SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Transplant Center for Dr. Krista Lentine, M.D., Ph.D., and it was named in my honor.
So the ‘Mid-America Transplant /Jane A. Beckman Endowed Chair in Transplantation’ is a thing forever.
My goal now is to spread the word about living donation to anyone who is willing to listen.
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