Youthful Ambition

When she was 16, Leah Stewart dreamed of becoming a kidney donor. At 21, her organ donation helped save a friend’s life, then she took her caring and sharing message to the ends of the earth

Most of us have conjured up a bucket list of some form –the things we want to see, do or achieve in our lifetime. Perhaps it’s to climb the Eiffel Tower, run a marathon, or learn to play an instrument. But when 16-year-old Leah Stewart wrote hers in 2007, donating a kidney was at the top of her list.

Now 23, Auckland-based Leah, a freelance camera operator and photographer who also works as a disability support worker, underwent surgery just after her 21st birthday to donate her left kidney to help a school friend, Denny, who had end-stage renal failure.

“Donating a kidney was one of those things I was always curious about,” says Leah. “I didn’t necessarily know anyone who had done it, but I knew from a young age that it was a cool thing you could do to help other people.”

To get put through as a donor, a rigorous year-long health screening is required from head to toe and there are more chances of being told no than yes. Leah’s sister Kori, who also wanted to donate, was ruled out early on due to her own health issues, but by this stage Leah was so invested in the process that she “took one for the team”.

“I was like, ‘Well, the doctors think there is no reason why I can’t do it, so then there is no reason why I can’t.’”

Leah and Denny’s tissue types so strongly resisted each other when tested that the girls were initially told they couldn’t go through with the surgery.

Instead, they opted for a kidney exchange programme, and found a matching pair within a pool of other pairs.