Pittsburgh, PA, March 5, 2011–Rita Dolezal’s decision to donate a kidney to a complete stranger didn’t require a long discussion with loved ones.
“We never really spoke about it,” said Dolezal, 59, of Latrobe.
Two of the first people she told were her daughter, Diana, and her son-in-law, Troy Johnson, who had recently learned he needed a kidney transplant. Dolezal wasn’t a match, but her decision led to him finding a donor.
Through UPMC, the two participated in the largest kidney donation chain involving patients from Western Pennsylvania. By the time it ended last week, 32 operations had occurred in 12 states.