Angela Lee and
Jim Thomas
Kidney Transplant Recipient and Donor
Walnut Creek, Calif.

Transplant Date:
January 19, 2000


After seeing his friend's kidney disease progress during the course of their six-year friendship, Jim Thomas offered Angela Lee the gift of life—his kidney. Angela, a 49-year old mother of two from Danville, had been suffering from glomerulo nephritis for half of her life and was on dialysis for more than three years while awaiting a kidney transplant. Her husband wanted to donate, but high blood pressure and a family history of diabetes prohibited it. And Angela felt her kids were too young to undergo the surgery. So Jim, a church friend of the Lees, stepped in.

"Once I found that I could live quite normally with only one kidney and that our different racial backgrounds were irrelevant to donation, it was a no-brainer," says Jim, a 51-year old East Bay resident. "I had been friends with Angela and her family for several years and knew that her life was pretty miserable—she never had a medically ‘normal' day, even on dialysis."

After a thorough evaluation at California Pacific Medical Center, Jim was declared a match and a transplant date was set. On January 19, 2000, Jim and Angela underwent the living donor transplant surgery. "The day after my surgery, I got out of bed," says Jim. "By the next morning, I was racing up and down the hospital halls, IV pole and monitors in tow."

Angela's recovery took a bit longer, but by day three, she was walking around. "I went to see Jim down the hall and we talked about all that had happened," she explains. "Every day, I started feeling better and better—and neither of us felt any pain around the incision." Jim added, "The surgery went beautifully. The transplant staff at California Pacific were just wonderful—they prepared us well, administered to us beautifully and were compassionate throughout."

Three days after the kidney transplant, Jim was discharged. Angela returned home to her family shortly thereafter. Within a couple days of being home, Jim was back to work on a modified schedule and Angela started to clean her house, something she hadn't had the strength to do in years. "Our energy levels continue to rebuild, which I understand is normal in the recovery process, but both of us resumed our normal lives almost immediately," says Jim.

Now, off dialysis for nearly eight months, Angela is enjoying her freedom and the new life her kidney has given her. "I can eat and drink whatever I want—and the independence is wonderful," she says. "I feel blessed that Jim came to my aid and for his generosity. I continue to visit my friends at the dialysis clinic who are waiting for a transplant and remind them to stay healthy and take care of themselves so they can enjoy the same freedom that I have."