A Match Made in Denver: One Kidney Patient’s Transplant Journey

In 2023, 33-year-old Candice Blankenship of Carthage, Missouri, got sick with pneumonia. After days of rest and over-the-counter medication, she began having trouble breathing and went to her local Emergency Department for help. What Candice didn’t expect was a life-changing diagnosis that would eventually take her to Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City for a transplant.  

After several tests and scans in the Emergency Department, Candice learned she had congestive heart failure, a genetic condition where the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should—and was in stage 4 of chronic kidney failure. At stage 4, the kidneys are losing much of their ability to filter waste from the blood, resulting in complications like high blood pressure and fatigue. Stage 5 is considered kidney failure, and many experts suggest preparing for a transplant or dialysis before reaching that point. For Candice, the news was unexpected.  

“I was stunned,” she says. “I didn’t have any symptoms that would put heart or kidney issues on my radar.”

A shocking diagnosis

Her doctors concluded that the combination of pneumonia with her heart condition likely put increased strain on her kidneys. They urged her to see a kidney transplant specialist, which led Candice to Saint Luke's Hospital Abdominal Transplant & Multi-Specialty Clinic. Saint Luke’s Hospital is a leader in kidney transplantation, performing the region’s first kidney transplant in 1969 and more than 2,500 since.  

After a series of tests and evaluations, Candice was accepted to the transplant program and placed on the waiting list for a kidney from a living donor.  

Living kidney donation is a process through which a healthy person donates one of their kidneys to someone in kidney failure. Because a person can live a healthy life with just one kidney, most donors make a full recovery and go on to live normal lives. Kidneys from living donors typically work better and last longer, saving recipients from years of dialysis and ultimately giving them a better quality of life.  

For more than two years, Candice waited for the right match. All the while, she battled chronic fatigue that made it difficult for her to enjoy life to the fullest.  

There were moments of hope. She woke up one morning to a call saying they might have a match, but Candice wasn’t feeling well. When she got to Saint Luke’s Hospital, Candice tested positive for COVID-19, and the kidney went to another patient.  

“You start to prepare yourself for this big thing to happen, and then life gets in the way,” she says. “It’s disappointing.”  

A long-awaited call

Eventually, Candice started doubting the call would ever come. Then, on Sept. 9, 2025, the phone rang again. And this time—everything fell into place. Candice and her family rushed to Saint Luke’s Hospital. Just a few hours later, she was in surgery.  

The procedure was a success. And when Candice woke up the next day, she was surprised to learn her donor was just down to hall.  

“They said if we were both willing, we could meet,” Candice says. “I hadn’t considered the possibility of meeting my donor, but I said yes.”  

That donor was Joanna Tejero.  

A sister’s love

In 2025, 35-year-old Joanna was living in Denver when she learned that her little sister—based in Kansas City—was in kidney failure and needed a transplant. After consulting with her siblings, Joanna stepped forward to begin the donation process at Saint Luke’s Hospital. After testing revealed she wasn’t a match, Joanna refused to give up. She kept her name on the donor registry in hopes of giving the same gift of life she planned for her sister, who received a kidney later that year.  

“I just thought that if someone else was willing to do this for my sister, then I was willing to do the same for someone who needed it,” Joanna says.

In September 2025, Joanna got the call and jumped on a plane for Kansas City. She went through extensive testing, approvals, and preparation. She went into surgery knowing very little about her kidney’s recipient—only that they had been waiting a long, long time.  

“They told me this person had been waiting over three years,” she says. “They said it just hadn’t worked out for one reason or another, so I kept thinking, ‘This is going to someone who really needs it.’”

A joyful meeting

Just hours after their lives became forever connected, Candice and Joanna met face to face. Through hugs and tears, they shared a little about themselves and expressed gratitude for one another.  

“Candice was a complete stranger to me,” Joanna says. “To give her something that she’ll carry with her the rest of her life is an incredible thing.”

Candice agrees.  

“It’s crazy to think that someone you’ve never met would do something like that for you,” she says. “It reminds you of the good in people.”

Today, Candice is happy and healthy. Her kidney function has returned to normal, and she’s able to spend quality time with friends and family—without the fatigue that slowed her down for years. Above all, she’s grateful for Joanna’s sacrifice and the incredible care she received at Saint Luke’s.  

“I had a great experience at Saint Luke’s,” she says. “Everyone I met was kind and professional. They made me feel comfortable and cared for.”  

As for Joanna, she’s back in Denver and back to her normal life. Her sister is enjoying a post-transplant life free of dialysis and fatigue. Joanna looks back on this experience as a reminder of our individual power to make a difference.

“I had this incredible opportunity to do something meaningful for someone else.” she says. “If you know you can give that gift to someone, why wouldn’t you?”

About Saint Luke’s Transplant Team

Saint Luke’s is a leader in kidney transplantation—performing the first successful kidney transplant in the Kansas City area in 1969 and the first living kidney donation surgery via laparoscopy in the region. The Saint Luke's kidney transplant team is one of the most experienced programs in the region, having performed nearly 2,500 transplants with below-average wait times and life-changing results. 

Learn more about living kidney donation or how you can become a donor here