FOX 4: Living Kidney Donation From Stranger Saves Metro Woman's Life

Performed with the assistance of a surgical robot, the surgery became the first living kidney donor transplant of its kind performed at Saint Luke’s.

Nearly 90,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting a lifesaving kidney transplant—and at the age of 33, Candice Blankenship received a life-changing diagnosis that would put her on the waitlist.

Then on September 9, 2025, Candice got the long-awaited phone call after a two-year wait. She matched and had a successful kidney transplant from a living donor, Joanna Tejero, a stranger from Denver, CO.

This donation was done with the assistance of a surgical robot, becoming the first living kidney donor transplant of its kind performed at Saint Luke’s.

FOX 4 talked with Candice and Joanna, along with Saint Luke's transplant surgeons Dr. Rachel Tindall and Dr. Kathryn Shaw, about their journey and the importance of organ donation.