Pittsburgh-area woman celebrates getting kidney donation 10 years ago right after Christmas

For most, the holiday season is known as the season of giving. For Leah Taylor, it's the season where she received one of the greatest gifts she could ever receive — the gift of life.

In July of 2015, Taylor was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease known as IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease also known as Berger's disease. Since she was adopted, Taylor didn't know her family history.

"When I got sick, I was 35," Taylor said. "My oldest daughter was 14 and my youngest was 3. So, I'm living for them. I could not imagine dying — right? — and leaving them without a mother."

Taylor was eligible to be added to the transplant list on Nov. 18. The average time a patient waits for a kidney is between three to five years, and time is a significant factor for survival.

"That's all I wanted, was just to feel better for my daughters," Taylor said. "I prayed for a kidney for Christmas."

The day after Christmas, Taylor received a call that changed her life. A donor match had been found for a kidney. The transplant surgery was done on Dec. 28.

"In Leah's case, it was a great match, and it became available," said Dr. Amit Tevar, director of kidney and pancreas transplant for UPMC. "I would say she's quite lucky and quite fortunate that that match was available."

"I was just thanking God because not only did I receive my kidney expeditiously, I prayed for a kidney for Christmas, and I had my surgery three days after Christmas," Taylor said.

With the help of the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), Taylor was able to locate the family of her donor, a woman named Nancy, within months. She eventually received handwritten letters back and gifts from Nancy's family, who live in Conneautville, Pennsylvania. One of the gifts was a Christmas bear, which Nancy's daughter, Kayla, used to buy her for the holiday.

Taylor learned Nancy died because of a ruptured brain aneurysm on Christmas Day, three days before the transplant surgery.

"I send them gifts every year, just to let them know that although she's not here, she lives on through me, and that I have never forgotten about them," said Taylor. "I think about them and pray for them daily."

Last month, nearly 10 years after her successful transplant surgery, Taylor met Nancy's husband, Tim, for the first time. 

"All of those emotions just came back," Taylor said. "I was just so thankful."

"Just to think that your loved one can continue to live on through someone else, I think it's just a selfless act," she added. 

Tevar says cases like Taylor's are the bar his department strives for with every patient they see. 

"This is a young, active, dynamic, intelligent woman who has renal failure for no fault of her own," Tevar said. "This is just a bad set of cards. She underwent transplant surgery, and for a decade, is doing great, is normal."

Taylor says she has a clean bill of health, and she's celebrating the 10th anniversary of her transplant surgery on a Disney cruise with her family.

Tevar said seeing these results are the reason his department does what they do, and why organ donation is so important."

"I want [patients] to go back to work, hang out with their kids, take crazy vacations and tell me about it," Tevar said. "That's what we strive for every single time."