It started with a thought that Amy Reichard said she could not silence in her mind. The AdventHealth Well 65+ practice manager felt she was being called to donate a kidney. And then, something happened that changed everything. “My old boss was driving in Apopka one day and saw a sign and a magnet on the side of (a) car that said, ‘Looking for O positive kidney donor for my daughter’,” said Reichard.
The daughter who needed the kidney was Tiffany Thompson, 24. She was stunned by the good news: “My mom was like, we, we might have a match, someone reached out. And I was like, thank God.”
Just like that, Thompson was on her way to receiving a lifesaving kidney transplant at AdventHealth Transplant Institute, because of the unselfish kindness of a stranger. Thompson said, “The day after I felt so good, no pain, I could breathe.”
Not long after the transplant, the pair went shopping for matching bracelets with matching charms. They plan to meet every November 8, on their “kidneyversary,” to add new identical charms.
“I just wish people could understand how great it is to cherish life,” Thompson said.
Click the video player at the top of the page to learn more about Tiffany and Amy’s special transplant bond.
Nearly 104,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving transplant in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Of those, almost 600 are being cared for by teams at the AdventHealth Transplant Institute, Orlando’s only solid-organ transplant program.
April is National Donate Life month. If you would like information about organ donation, including how to sign up, click on this link.