Many people are more than happy to help out a coworker. Give them a ride to work. Cover a shift here and there. Then there's Carrie Ferris.
Ferris is a visual merchandiser at the Target on 132nd and L. She's a mom. A wife. And now, she is a living donor. On January 30th, Ferris went under the knife to donate one of her kidneys to her fellow Target employee, Jeremy Meyer. Meyer is a Type 1 diabetic who was medically discharged from the military sixteen years ago recently saw his health rapidly decline. Staring down the barrel of dialysis and an unknown amount of time on a transplant list, Meyer took a chance.
He brought some pamphlets about being a living donor in to work on the off-chance that someone would see them and look more into it. Then while chatting with Ferris, the two realized they had a lot in common. Not only did they work at the same store, but they had the same birthday, albeit four years apart, and then they realized they had the same blood type, A+.
Ferris tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that once she found out they shared the same blood type, she had to go in for testing to see if she would be a good match for Meyer. She had to see if she could help save Meyer's life, there was no doubt in her mind she had to help. Months of poking and prodding, test after test and then the news they had both been waiting for. Ferris was a match.
The 35 year old mom says it was a no-brainer that she would donate her kidney, she put herself in Meyer's shoes and the answer was clear. "If I was in the position where I needed a kidney and my only option was sitting on the transplant list or going into dialysis, I would hope that someone would jump in and help me." Ferris says she wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she didn't help Meyer, adding that she could never have the expectation of someone helping her, if she isn't willing to help someone else. Although her family was scared for her, they backed up her decision wholeheartedly.
Now two weeks post-op, Ferris says she and Meyer are both doing great and feeling healthy. She says being a living donor, so far, has been an incredible experience and hopes their story can shed light on organ donation. "Becoming a living donor, I have to say, is probably one of the most rewarding things I've done. I would encourage other people to look into it if they are in the correct health and point in their life where it was something they'd be able to do."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Meyer and Ferris as they recuperate and get back to work.