A heart-warming story on CNN about a kidney transplant at University Hospital quoted Didier Mandelbrot, MD, professor (CHS), Nephrology. Dr. Mandelbrot serves as medical director of the UW Health Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program.

Pediatric patient Jackson Arneson of Janesville, Wisconsin was in need of a transplant due to kidney damage from posterior urethral valves. When no matches were found among family members, his mother posted a plea on Facebook in February, 2017 that was shared more than 1,400 times. 

One viewer, Milton Police Department officer Lindsey Bittorf, underwent testing and discovered that she had a compatible blood type and matched three of six antigens tested. "(The chances of) a complete stranger having any matches is pretty low," said Dr. Mandelbrot. 

A successful transplant procedure occurred in June, 2017.

Resources:

• "Cop donates kidney to child after seeing Facebook post," CNN, August 4, 2017
• "Wisconsin Police Officer Who Donated Her Kidney to Boy She’d Never Met Says ‘We Went From Strangers to Best Friends," People Magazine, October 5, 2017