HARRISBURG, Pa. — Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is one of the highest and most difficult mountains for anyone to climb. But in March, Mandi Smith from Annville was able to reach the summit, with only one kidney.
“Just getting to see that sun come up, it felt like you were standing right next to it," said Smith. “It was really hard; I’m not going to downplay that. I’m not much of a hiker, I’m not a mountaineer, and if I’ve ever slept in a tent, I was probably under the age of ten.”
Mandi joined other kidney donors and recipients on the climb to raise awareness for becoming a living organ donor. It's a cause she got involved with a few years ago.
“It was very God-led and it was the presence of God whispering in my ear, and telling me this is the direction He wanted me to go," said Smith.
Mandi took part in a successful organ transplant in January 2022. She gave her kidney to a man who also lives in Annville.
“I did not know him personally before the surgery," said Smith. "When I got to meet him for the first time that day, he was able to call both of his sons at college and FaceTime them, so I got to meet them. I think that was the most distinct moment.”
“Sometimes people do that when it’s their family member or somebody close they know," said Dr. Vijay Menon, a transplant surgeon at UPMC Harrisburg. "But when it’s less so somebody that they’ve heard of or know vaguely in the community, it’s a tremendous thing.”
Around 90,000 people are currently waiting for a kidney transplant in the US. About nine to 10,000 people die each year waiting on the list.
Dr. Vijay Menon says spreading awareness of organ donation can help save more lives on the waiting list.
“If you can increase the living donor population, you can hopefully bring down the number of people who unfortunately don’t survive until they get a functioning kidney," said Dr. Menon.
For more information on UPMC's organ donation program, click here.