The Caregiver Cared For: My Story as a Living Kidney Donor

Laura Bradstreet at the transplant center where she works, with her name on the donor wall

Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a nurse and I have loved every minute of my nursing career. I excelled in anatomy and health classes in school and received a full ride scholarship from the Army for my schooling. In the spring of 2022, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with my DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) and became a certified pediatric nurse practitioner.

I’ve always been drawn to do what I can to help people feel better, whether that’s helping a patient walk in the hallway after surgery or acting silly with the children who are admitted to intensive care. My first job after graduate school was in pediatric hepatology and transplant, which is caring for children with liver disease and pre/post liver transplant. Although the position was not at all what I expected, I fell in love with transplant. I learned so much in the first few months. The first transplant after I started was a 10-month-old who received a deceased donor liver. I also learned the difference between deceased and living organ donors, as well as the fact that there are over 100,000 people on the waiting list for an organ (over 90,000 are waiting for a kidney!). After being in this position for just four months, I decided to reach out to the transplant program at the hospital where I worked to see if I could become a living kidney donor.

After an extensive medical exam, tests and a lot of blood work, I was approved to donate a kidney in May 2023. Initially, I didn’t want to tell anyone; I can be a private person and didn’t want to make a big deal of it, but then I decided, why not? Maybe I could inspire someone else to donate! So I started to tell my friends and family. I donated in December 2023, when my work schedule would allow me to take six weeks off.

I will never forget when I told my P.E.O. sisters about my upcoming donation surgery. They were so excited for me and I felt very loved. One of my sisters made sure to write down the surgery date so she could send cards and check in on me. I never asked for any help, but I wanted them to be aware because of the love we have for each other. I received so many lovely texts and emails leading up to my surgery and the cards and calls that came during my recovery blew me away.

Laura, in her Kidney donor Athletes outfit, shines with mental, emotional and physical strength

In 2025, just over a year after donating a kidney, Laura traveled to Guatemala where she hiked three volcanos

I stayed at my parents’ house near Milwaukee to recover and the P.E.O. love just kept coming. My mom, Mary Lou Bradstreet, past president, Wisconsin State Chapter, was my support person in the hospital and helped care for me when I got home. She did a spectacular job and made sure I was well fed! Chapter DT came out in strength with calls, cards and visits. My previous chapter, EM, Tacoma, Washington, also sent emails and cards as I recovered both in Milwaukee and in Madison. The love I received from P.E.O.s around the country during my recovery was simply remarkable.

I felt like my recovery was quick and easy. I ran a half marathon four months after donation and a half Ironman triathlon three months after that. In January 2025, I went to Guatemala with Kidney Donor Athletes to climb three volcanoes, proving that you can do anything with one kidney that you can do with two! I never would have recovered so well or so quickly without the love and support from my P.E.O. sisters!