Women encourage others to become living donors

This article was on the front page of our newspaper this morning!

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/10/26/ddn102707kidney.html

Best friends for life: Women encourage others to become living donors

By Christopher Magan
Staff Writer

Saturday, October 27, 2007

ENGLEWOOD — Taunna Fletcher and Rachael Hutchison are proof that chance meetings can change lives.

The two met in 1996 while working at Grandview Hospital in Dayton, Hutchison as a social worker and Fletcher a physical therapist. Both had recently learned they were carrying their first child.

Taunna Fletcher (left) and Rachael Hutchison have been friends for years. When Fletcher needed a kidney transplant, Hutchison donated her kidney.Click to enlarge

"I just overheard her talking about it," Fletcher said. "That's how we met. We were both pregnant at the same time."

They became fast friends, sharing a lot of the experiences first-time moms go through.

"We did the baby showers and all that stuff together," said Hutchison, of Englewood. "It was nice to have someone to do that with."

Both moved on to other jobs, but after five children between the two of them, all girls, their families have become very tight-knit.

That chance meeting a decade ago helped save Fletcher's life.

In 2005, shortly after the birth of her third child, Fletcher was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis and risked kidney failure. Hutchison immediately volunteered one of her kidneys.

"I was planning for it right from the beginning," she said. "It was just something I knew in my heart."

The two had successful transplant surgery in January and have fully recovered.

Now, Fletcher and Hutchison are sharing their story in hopes others will join them at The Greene on Sunday for the National Kidney Foundation Dayton Chapter Walk and Run to raise awareness about kidney disease and the need for living donors.

"The more there are the more lives we can save," Fletcher said.

Contact the reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com

How to go

The National Kidney Foundation Dayton Chapter Kidney Walk/Run is 9 a.m. Sunday, at The Greene in Beavercreek near Indian Ripple Road and Interstate 675. Registration is $20 and starts at 7:30 a.m. Participants receive a T-shirt and goodie bag.

Photo caption: Taunna Fletcher (left) and Rachael Hutchison have been friends for years. When Fletcher needed a kidney transplant, Hutchison donated her kidney.