Dallas

From Classmate to Kidney Donor; Ursuline Academy Classmates to Become ‘Kidney Sisters'

Nono Osuji needed a kidney. Her Ursuline Academy classmate, Megan Nietzel, answered the call

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On Tuesday, December 6, Ursuline Academy of Dallas classmates Nono Osuji and Megan Nietzel will be bound by more than high school memories. The two will under undergo transplant surgery as Nietzel donates her kidney to Osuji.

"I was like oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD," Osuji said recalling when Megan sent a video message with the news.

'You're here to help people, and you're here to do good and do good by people," Nietzel said. "And this is how you do it."

The women attended Ursuline Academy together more than two decades ago. They were friendly, but not good friends.

"No," Osuji said. "We followed each other on social media."

That's where Osuji posted an emotional video, telling her 12-year-long battle with systemic lupus, which left rashes all over her body, caused her to lose her hair and ultimately led to end-stage renal failure and dialysis.

"It's a big ask, to ask for your organ," Osuji said in the video, asking for anyone who felt compelled, and had type-A blood, to get tested as a potential living donor.

"I was just scrolling through Facebook and I saw it," Nietzel said. "She said the same blood type and I just looked at my husband and I said, I am going to apply to try and be a living donor for a classmate of mine."

When Nietzel got the results, she sent Osuji a video message.

"Hi Nono, it's Megan," the message began. "You sent a video and you called it a 'big ask.' I have the answer for you. It's a kidney and it's a perfect match. I'm going to be donating it to you...so let's go do this!"

"I had a lot of nights of, like, screaming at God, like heal me or kill me," Osuji said. "And so, yeah, He answered it. He didn't kill me!"

This week Osuji and Nietzel had their final pre-op tests to get ready for their big day.

"So we went from classmates to sisters," Osuji said. "I know! It's neat," Nietzel said. "It's really neat."

There are more than 90,000 people on a waiting list for a kidney donor. For more information about living kidney donation, click here.

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