A Nashville husband and wife are recovering at home together after she donated a kidney to him in a rare transplant case in which spouses matched each other.
Stephen and Amy Bredfeldt of Franklin, Tenn., underwent kidney transplant surgery on April 30 shortly after learning that doctors at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital had convened a panel and determined that Amy was a partial match for her husband.
Amy first started the kidney donation process with the intention of helping a stranger and moving Stephen up the list in early 2024 when Stephen’s health reached a point where doctors told him he would have to get a kidney donation or live his life on dialysis, he said. couple for local news outlet WSMV.
“It seemed impossible for us to match. There are a lot of things that have to match,” Amy said.
However, after undergoing a series of tests, she received a call from a doctor that she could be the person who could potentially save her husband from a life on dialysis.
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“I was so happy. I actually left the office, got in my car and cried, then I pulled myself together and then I called [Stephen]”, she told the newspaper about her reaction to the unexpected news.
In 2022, Stephen was diagnosed with a rare genetic kidney disease called lgA nephropathy after an incident in which he passed out.
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“There were times when I gave up, times when I thought it would be better if I just died the moment I passed out,” Stephen told WSMV. “Because I mean, what kind of life is it to live on dialysis?”
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When he received the news from Amy that she would be his donor, he said: “I couldn’t believe it at first. Honestly, I didn’t believe it.”
The couple are now home after each operation on April 30, with Stephen taking around 35 pills a day to stop his body rejecting his new kidney from Amy.
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“She’s my hero,” Stephen said of his wife. “She literally saved my life, and that’s something I’ll never forget and will always be grateful for.”
Amy and Stephen’s family members have set up a GoFundMe page to help the couple pay for medical expenses not covered by their insurance.
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Source: HIS Education