One kidney, six lives: Local mother & daughter part of life-changing kidney swap across state lines

BATON ROUGE — When her mom needed a kidney donor and transplant, a daughter immediately stepped up to help save her mother’s life. However, the women never imagined what kind of impact would happen with this decision.

Stephanie Whetstone’s mom Lisa Cloy was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder two years ago. The disease attacks a person’s lungs and kidneys, Although it hadn’t started to affect her lungs, Whetstone’s mom was already in complete kidney failure.

Because of this, for two years, Cloy has been undergoing dialysis three days a week. Each procedure takes four hours.

Cloy decided to discuss the option of receiving a kidney transplant with her doctor. The doctor put Cloy on the list for a kidney donation, but it was for non-living donors and the wait for a transplant could be a long one.

“They told her that it could possibly take three to five years and that there are hundreds of people on the list, and that the odds are that a lot of people don’t make it that long,” Whetstone told UWK.

Cloy became open to the idea of receiving a kidney from a living donor.

“I immediately signed up and went through the whole process of getting tested and stuff,” Whetstone recalled. “And we were not a match.”

Because they weren’t an exact match, the next option was a donor match program. In this, the family had to have someone willing to donate a kidney so that Cloy could receive one.

While she was disappointed initially at not being able to directly help her mom, Whetstone said she became encouraged at the idea of two people being helped instead of just one.

Soon after entering the program, a match was found. But it was more special than just a match.

“So my mom is scheduled to receive a kidney from someone in New Orleans, which is where we’re going to have our surgery — at Ochsner in New Orleans. And then my kidney will go to a 16-year-old in Michigan,” Whetstone explained. “And then that person’s donor, their kidney is going to go to another recipient in New Orleans.”

Because there are six people involved in the process, scheduling has been a little difficult. However, both mom and daughter said they are excited and a little nervous.

Cloy will have surgery Jan. 6, 2025, to receive a kidney from a local donor. Her daughter will have surgery on Jan. 8, 2025, to give her kidney to the Michigan teen.

Whetstone will undergo routine, pre-procedure testing later this month in preparation for the surgery.

If everything goes smoothly with the surgeries, about one month post-op, the donors and recipients have the opportunity to decide whether they want to meet one another. At this time, no information about the other donors or recipients is known.

Whetstone said she and her mom are open to meeting with the others if everyone is on board with the idea. “I think it would be amazing if we could all meet, as we will be connected in such a special way,” she said.

How to become a donor

According to Ochsner Health’s Living Donor Kidney Program, getting a kidney from a family member or even a stranger can dramatically speed up the wait time for a transplant. At Ochsner, 30% of kidney transplant patients receive a kidney from a living donor.

Potential donors are asked to first fill out a questionnaire on Ochsner’s Living Donor Kidney website. After reviewing your responses, if you are a possible candidate for donation, a donor advocate will contact you to arrange testing to see if you have a match and are healthy enough to donate.

Depending on where you live, you may have to do testing in your hometown before next steps can happen. With Ochsner’s program, kidney removal surgery is performed at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans using a robotic system.

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