Two strangers connect through kidney transplant

They were both teachers; they are both devoted to their families; but otherwise, these two women were strangers until they connected through a single kidney.

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

“Isn’t it crazy how much we look alike?

Those were the first words Janice Stoner said when she shared her journey to meeting her living kidney donor, Amanda Goff.

“People say we look like twins,” added Stoner, who turned 80 on November 23. For years, Stoner of Jones, Mich. suffered with failing kidneys. At one point she was listed for transplant but then started getting better and was taken off the list. She was getting ready to be listed again when she got the call. There was a match for this mother of four daughters, grandmother to 18, and great-grandmother to five.

That match came from a stranger.

Amanda Goff, 67, of Fort Wayne, Ind. was initially motivated to become a living donor when a dear college friend needed a transplant. When she realized she wasn’t a match for her friend Goff learned about “paired donation.”

At IU Health many recipients receive kidney and liver transplants from living donors.

Living kidney donors help give renewed health to people experiencing kidney failure. Living donors reduce or eliminate the need for patients to start dialysis and a healthy kidney from a living donor can function better and last longer than a kidney from a deceased donor.

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 preparation for organ transplant, all potential donors work with a team of IU Health transplant experts including surgeons, donor coordinators, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, and financial coordinators. They undergo an initial screening, multiple tests and evaluations.

“I initially thought I was too old for kidney donation,” said Goff. “I began the journey in May of 2023, and my surgery was April 25, 2024. IU Health was so careful about every test, scan, and x-ray that I took. I felt confident when I went into surgery that my kidney would work well in someone else, and that I would recover well. The confidence of the surgeons was wonderful. I think both Jan and I were told by our surgeons that the surgery wasn't performed unless the surgeons were confident of success.”

Goff’s surgeon was Dr. John Powelson. Her nephrologist is Dr. M. Yaqub. Stoner was in the surgical care of Dr. Willam Goggins.

When I came out of surgery, I was told that my kidney was successfully transplanted and that it was working. It was an exhilarating feeling,” said Stoner.

A year after transplant, Stoner and Goff had an opportunity to meet. “It was like we’d known each other for a long time,” said Stoner. They learned they were both former educators, they both have strong family support, and they both are enjoying robust health.

“Both of us were able to recover well from surgery,” said Goff.

For Stoner that means riding a mile on her bike, attending a weekly bible study, and watching her grandchildren and great grandchildren grow up.

“We have a full house at Thanksgiving and Christmas,” she said. “They love my pumpkin and apple pies and I just love being with them all.”