Pilot donates her kidney to flight attendant in need
It's been five months since an Alaska Airlines pilot donated her kidney to a flight attendant, and both are excited to be flying again — and educating their colleagues and the public about the importance of organ donation.
For 15 years, Jenny Stansel lived with chronic kidney disease, and after a health scare in mid-air last year, she was put on dialysis. Captain Jodi Harskamp said it wasn't hard for her to decide to donate one of her kidneys to Stansel. "There is nothing more fulfilling as a human being than to help another human being live," she said.
The pair became friends a few years ago, when Stansel brought Harskamp a lasagna after her house burned down, they told ABC News. "All of the people say wow, kidney for lasagna, that's a huge trade," Harskamp said. They have both recovered well from their surgeries, and in June, Harskamp competed in the Mount Marathon Race in Alaska; Stansel waited for her at the finish line, holding a sign that read, "My kidney's other half is on that mountain." Watch a video from before the donation below. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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