My Donor’s Gift “Has Given Me a Future”

Chelsey Larson, American Transplant Foundation TLC Member and Mentor, chose to donate one of her kidneys to acquaintance Ellen Rorman, an action that gave Ellen a future and changed Larson’s own life forever. Chelsey barely knew Ellen, but that didn’t stop her from donating a kidney. “If people don’t know anybody that went through a transplant, it’s a very scary thing,” Larson said. “I feel like my purpose now is to show others that you can do this.”

The vast majority of those who have donated, including Chelsey, have reported quality of life that is higher than someone who is comparable to them in age and sex but have not donated, Spong said. One study Spong cited shows that 99 percent of donors would donate again.

Today, Larson is living in Colorado and volunteering with the American Transplant Foundation. She’s working to help raise money for donors and recipients who need financial assistance while recovering from surgery and she wants to increase awareness about donating.

“If people don’t know anybody that went through a transplant, it’s a very scary thing,” Larson said. “I feel like my purpose now is to show others that you can do this and you can save a life and still live a perfectly normal and healthy life.”

The surgery forever changed Rorman’s life, and she will always be grateful for Larson’s choice.

“Chelsey’s selfless decision to do this for me has given me a chance,” Rorman said. The transplant gave Rorman freedom to go on weeklong vacations, enjoy a weekend without worrying about dialysis, and eat her favorite food, buffalo wings, once more.

“It really has given me a future; it’s given me the opportunity to live the life I’ve wanted to live,” she said.

To read the full article on University of Minnesota Health, please click here.