Traditionally, military veterans and their families who need an organ transplant have to travel great distances for health care, at great expense. UT Southwestern has been working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve access to transplant surgery.
"You know, it's hard enough being sick with end-organ failure," UT Southwestern Chief of Surgical Transplant Dr. Parsia Vagefi said. "So there's been a lot of effort put in place to try to expand the opportunities for patients to get the transplanted closer to home."
Grand Prairie resident Vivian Johnson had a rare kidney disease. Her first kidney transplant was in 2004. Her husband James, who was in the Army at the time, donated a kidney.
"It was, 'What do you need honey? Just let me know because I want you to be healthy,'" James said. "That's the key for me."
Fast forward to 2020, when Vivian needed a second kidney transplant.
"The doctors began to talk to me about possibly putting myself back on the kidney transplant list," Vivian said. "So of course, Kimberly took the lead and was like, it has to be me!"
Kimberly Johnson is the couple's oldest daughter.
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"Sacrifice is something that comes naturally to me," Kimberly said. "I laugh because I say that she has my wild kidney. She always has a part of me, so she likes coffee now."
That second transplant surgery was at UT Southwestern in Dallas.
"It was really important to us to help our veteran community and establish an opportunity for them to get the highest quality care," Vagefi said.
The Johnsons hope their story inspires others to be organ donors.
"Especially in the Black community. There are certain things we deal with more health-wise," Kim said. "I think it's sometimes just fear of the unknown."
For more information on organ donation, click here. For information on how to be a living donor, click here.
