46-year-old gives kidney to complete stranger — here’s how it worked

For most people, surgery is something to avoid unless it’s absolutely and completely necessary. For Julie (who prefers to withhold her last name), who is 46, it was a voluntary way to help a stranger. 
Years ago, she was inspired after reading an article about kidney donation. Julie has no kids, healthy nieces and nephews, and had major surgery before, so she says she wasn’t intimidated by the notion of kidney donation surgery. Though she made an initial phone call to get information about kidney donation after reading the piece, ultimately she waited several years before moving forward with donation. In July of 2017, she underwent the surgery.To make it more interesting, Julie’s kidney recipient’s sister then donated her own kidney to someone else. That donor’s mother donated to another person, creating a kidney exchange chain. --> READ MORE