April is Donate Life Month

GALAX, Va. (WDBJ) - Donating an organ is a selfless gesture that can literally save a life.

Mary Hessler had no idea how big of an impact her donation would make.

“In 2020 I donated a kidney to Robert Fallon, a young man I learned need a kidney from an article in “The Declaration,” the local newspaper for Independence, Virginia," Hessler says.

It wasn’t an easy process.

“I went through all the testing, and it’s a lot, only to find out that because I was over 50 I could not donate directly to Robert. However, this was not to be the end of the journey,” says Hessler.

She said the team from UVA contacted her and asked if she would consider being on the Paired Donor Exchange Program.

Hessler accepted before knowing what the program involved.

But she learned a lot about it.

“If you agree, your kidney goes to a different match while guaranteeing that the person you wanted to donate to gets a kidney at the same time. My kidney went to someone in northern Virginia, while Robert’s came, I believe, from the Midwest. We were operated on on the same day, me donating, and Robert receiving,” says Hessler.

Her gift went on to help many others.

“Because I agreed to this, an algorithm was created of others who were on the Registry, and if I am correct, 7 people received kidneys, and 7 donated that day,” she says.

April is Donate Life Month. Learn more about it here.