‘Mama, I’m a match’ – daughter donates kidney to mother

When a mother needed a kidney, her daughter responded.

By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org

The New Year will be a lot brighter for one Indianapolis mother. Floretta McGraw smiled as she shares the moment she heard the words from her daughter: “Mama, I’m a match.”

And now McGraw is stepping into 2026 with renewed health.

The mother of a son, 28, and daughter, 31, McGraw was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. Overtime, her kidneys began to fail.

Her daughter, Aaliyah McGraw-Jones was determined to help.

“From the day my mom’s request for a donor was released, I knew I was going to be first in line to start testing as a match,” said McGraw-Jones, a Pre-K teacher in Warren Township Schools. She considers her mom one of her best friends and said they love riding around together, trying new coffee shops, listening to live music and attending church together.

“When I got the phone call from my amazing kidney coordinator (Monica Robinson) that I was a direct match, I knew immediately that I was going to follow through with my decision to donate.”

At IU Health, both kidney and liver transplants can come from living donors.

Living kidney donors help give renewed health to people experiencing kidney failure and reduce or eliminate the need for patients to start dialysis.

A living kidney donor isn’t necessarily related to the recipient. Compatibility is based on blood type and tissue typing. Age and size are also taken into consideration. If a healthy donor is incompatible with the intended recipient, the donor may opt to be part of paired donation. Also known as “donor swap” recipient /donor pairs are matched according to compatibility. Over the years, IU Health’s kidney transplant team has performed several paired donations. Some chains have included multiple people.

In 2025, IU Health completed 208 adult and pediatric transplants.

McGraw-Jones underwent an initial screening, multiple tests and evaluations, and worked with a team of IU Health transplant experts including surgeons, donor coordinators, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, and financial coordinators.

Through testing, McGraw-Jones learned she is severely anemic and was able to address the health concern. Otherwise, she said: “My testing process was a breeze. I tested from July 2024 all the way until two days before the surgery,” said McGraw-Jones. As a result of the match, her mom was able to refrain from dialysis.

On June 11, 2025, the day after McGraw’s 56^th birthday, she received the gift of life from her daughter. She was in the surgical care of Dr. William Goggins. Since her recovery, McGraw has regular checkups with her nephrologist Dr. Asif Sharfuddin.

After discharge, McGraw-Jones had some time to reflect on her decision.

“I would tell anyone considering donating to ensure this is an act you want to follow through with. I never had any second guesses on my decision, but it is a big commitment. Trust God and believe that he will hold your hand through the entire process. Take care of yourself, especially after surgery. And to anyone considering donating, do it out of love and not obligation. You will feel good about making such a life changing decision for yourself and the recipient.”