2016 Lorena Rodriguez

LORENA RODRIGUEZ

Kidney Donor

Age 49 ~ Chula Vista, CA

Honored by livingdonationcalifornia.org

Lorena Rodriguez loves Elvis, margaritas and, most of all, sharing the story of her journey to becoming a living kidney donor.  After nearly two decades of working with patients in kidney failure,  Lorena decided she could do more and became determined to get someone off of dialysis and back to life.  But, it wasn’t an easy road. Lorena first had to get her own health in order and, after a new exercise and diet regime, she lost 20 pounds! In February 2011, nine months after she began her journey, Lorena was cleared for surgery and learned her kidney donation would be part of a chain in which three people would get life-saving kidney transplants.  “If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change one single thing because I had such a wonderful journey.”

Lorena’s Story

Lorena Rodriguez loves Elvis, margaritas and, most of all, sharing the story of her journey to becoming a living kidney donor. It started at work where, after nearly two decades of working with patients in kidney failure, she decided she could do more and became determined to get someone off of dialysis and back to their family to live a better life. But, it wasn’t an easy road. Lorena first had to get her own health in order and, after a new exercise and diet regime, she lost 20 pounds! In February 2011, nine months after she began her journey, Lorena was cleared for surgery and learned her kidney donation would be part of a chain in which three people would get life-saving kidney transplants. Shortly after their surgeries, Lorena met her recipient – a single mother who is now free from dialysis and can focus on taking care of her little girl.

“If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change one single thing because I had such a wonderful journey.”