Woman gets life-saving kidney donation from co-worker

TAMPA - Two worlds collided unexpectedly when one woman put out a call for an organ donation.

The backstory:

Cheryl Foster, who lives in Fort Myers, had been on the kidney transplant for about two years.

"In 2009, I had a kidney stone, and I went to the doctor, didn't think much about it, just let it be," Foster said.

In 2013, Foster had to have a routine wellness check in order to start her new job.

"I had kidney biopsy done, and they found that I had an autoimmune disease called FSGS (Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis)," she said.

For the next couple years, Foster says she and her doctors monitored the disease. In 2015, she got pregnant with her daughter, who's now nine years old.

After that, Foster began going into kidney failure.

"Eventually over time, my kidneys just deteriorated and deteriorated until about two years ago, the doctor said, 'We're going to start getting you listed for a transplant'," Foster said.

There was no guarantee if or when Foster would get off the transplant list with a match for a kidney donor.

Recently, Cheryl's company shared her story on its online forum. She says more than a dozen people reached out to try to help.

"I have always been a proponent of organ donation," Adrienne Gossman, who works at Foster's company said. "Never thought that I would have the opportunity to be a living organ donor."

Gossman says she saw Foster's story and knew that she had to do something.

"She has a young daughter, so that was definitely a driving force," Gossman said. "But anytime somebody needs help, you do what you can to help them."

After some testing and bloodwork, Foster eventually got a call that Gossman was a match.

"I think ran out of my office because I was at work and was like, 'We're going to have surgery'," Foster said.

Although, the two coworkers had never met face to face. In April, they finally met up, as the pursued the process for a kidney transplant.

"To me that it just, it felt like a first date," Foster said. "It really did."

If Foster hadn't found a match, she would eventually have to go on dialysis to manage her kidney failure.

"It helps me to know that she's a good person and that she has a full life, that she will be able to live that full life after the donation," Gossman said.

Foster says there are thousands of people on the transplant list, and it typically takes three to five years to get a kidney unless you're able to find a living donor who's a match.

"Now, I get a second chance at more vacations, more play dates, more hide and seeks, as my daughter says," Foster said.

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Foster and Gossman both hope that their story raises awareness about the need for living organ donors.

"You can be a living donor and still live a very healthy lifestyle, and you know, if you've even thought about it, just make the call, sign up, see if you're viable for anyone, because there's so many on that list that need you, that really need your help," Foster said.

The two women are scheduled to have the kidney transplant procedure done on Thursday at Tampa General Hospital.

TGH says it has the largest living donor program on Florida and the second-highest kidney program in the country.

The hospital system says it did almost 900 organ transplants last year.

You can find more information about TGH's living donor kidney transplant program here.

HealthTampa