SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Lincoln, Nebraska woman in need of a kidney transplant could not find a match in her home state. However, her determination to live a full life for her husband and daughter drove her to find other options

Shirley Peng and her husband Seth are meeting with specialists at the Avera Transplant Institute. This is a post-op check-up. There are smiles under the masks, but that wasn’t the case a few months ago.

Shirley lived a healthy lifestyle with her husband and 5-year-old daughter.

Out of the blue, she started feeling tired, and one afternoon she almost died.

“Shirley passed out on the living room floor and I had to give her CPR and call the ambulance I think that’s when it really hit us that the situation was pretty dire at the time,” said Seth.

Tests confirmed Lupus, an autoimmune disorder. It attacked her kidneys, which were failing.

“I think we were pretty much in shock at first didn’t fully comprehend the situation that was going on,” said Seth.

Shirley needed a kidney transplant.

Seth would donate one of his, but he wasn’t a match.

Her life became 10 hours a day of dialysis and being too tired and sick to be the mom she wanted to be.
So, Shirley focused on finding a solution. She found the Avera Transplant Center and its affiliation with the National Kidney Registry.

“With the national kidney registry it’s kidneys from all over the country and in order to get one you need to bring a kidney and so there are just so many more options, said Shirley.

To their surprise, shortly before the new year, Avera called with a match.

“I talked it over with Seth and we were like of course we will take that kidney, and Seth would have to donate his so we were just part of that chain.

In a chain 8, 10, 12 people can be involved. And that worked in Shirley’s favor. Because of her condition, her antibody levels were very high, making it more difficult to find a match.

“Her wait time for a deceased donor was going to be very high, could be ten plus years, helped us find her a compatible donor within months.”

Shirley and Seth are grateful they found the registry and she looks forward to getting back to her active lifestyle.

“We have a 5-year-old daughter who is extremely happy to have basically her mother back to be able to play with her and do all those things that you would do on a daily basis,” said Seth.

“I feel so much healthier and happier and it has been just such a blessing to get a kidney,” said Shirley.

Here is a link to the National Kidney Registry