If there is one thing to know about Heather Storm, it is that she is always willing to give back. In 2020, when her father became ill with advanced liver disease, she left her job and her family moved closer to home to help manage office work for her family’s lawn care company. With her generous spirit, it comes as no surprise that the Hughesville, Pa., resident would eventually donate her kidney to someone she never met.
At first, Heather didn’t know that living donation was even an option. She first learned about living donation from a friend’s husband who went through the UPMC Transplant Services program. Eventually, Heather’s father needed a liver transplant due to his health rapidly declining.
In the spring of 2020, Heather traveled four hours to Pittsburgh to undergo testing to potentially become a living donor for her father. Unfortunately, she was not compatible due to their size difference. Her father later received a deceased-donor liver transplant on November 17, 2020.
“A few months after his surgery, I thought if I can't donate to him, can I at least pay it forward?” says Heather. “My dad was able to receive an organ and he’s still here because of that.”
Choosing to Give Back
“When I recontacted UPMC Transplant Services, they were able to see my results from just a few months prior, and that’s when I said they could use my kidney or liver, whichever is needed first, and that I was willing to donate as soon as possible,” Heather explains.
In February 2021, Heather learned that her friend’s grandfather needed a kidney transplant. She traveled back to Pittsburgh for additional tests to determine if she could donate to him, but she was unable to do so.
“UPMC had called me back and asked if I still wanted to move forward with the living donation process,” says Heather. “I said yes, there is still a waiting list.”
A few weeks later, she received a call and learned that her kidney was a match for a man she never met.
“It was a really quick process,” says Heather. “I didn’t expect to get matched that quickly. I was honestly excited; it didn’t scare me, and I didn’t regret my decision to move forward with the process.”
The following March, Heather made the trip back to Pittsburgh for the kidney transplant at UPMC Montefiore. Right before the surgery, Heather was able to meet the recipient of her kidney. Amit Tevar, MD, performed the living-donor kidney transplant.
“Dr. Tevar has a great personality and bedside manner,” says Heather. “He was amazing and comforted me while I was there.”
Aftercare Close to Home
Within a week, Heather was able to drive her car again and wasn’t in pain. She quickly went back to her day-to-day life with her husband, son, daughter, and their dogs.
Six weeks after the successful surgery, Heather experienced a chyle leak. This occurs when chyle, a fluid, leaks into nearby organs. The leak would occur when Heather ate certain foods.
Fortunately, Heather was able to seek care close to home at UPMC Williamsport. Heather was advised to modify her diet for about eight weeks, which healed the chyle leak. About three weeks after the leak healed, Heather was able to get back into running and exercising.
“Even though I had the complication, if I could do it all over again, I would,” says Heather. “Right after my surgery, I remember asking how the recipient was doing. I just wanted to know if he made it through his surgery and if the kidney was working.”
Life After Surgery
Heather maintains an active lifestyle by going on hikes and spending time outdoors with her family and their dogs, a pit bull and two border collies.
“Honestly, I forget that I even had the surgery; nothing is any different,” says Heather. “You don’t have to change your lifestyle to give someone else more of a quality and quantity of a life.”
Heather wants others to know that living donation is always an option.
“There's nothing to regret,” says Heather. “When your first thought after you wake up after surgery is ‘how is your recipient?’ it answers everything for you. That's why you did it. Because you care.”
Heather's treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.