Living with polycystic kidney disease (PKD): Leanna’s journey to a life-saving kidney transplant

At 45 years old, the St. Paul, Minnesota native is living well with a kidney transplant she received in 2018. But her story with kidney disease began long before that — when she was just six months old.

A diagnosis that began in infancy

Leanna was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) as a baby. Her mom thought she had the flu and brought her to the hospital. By the time they returned home, a cab was waiting to rush them back for emergency surgery. That’s when they learned her kidneys were failing. 

Polycystic kidney disease causes cysts to grow on the kidneys, making them enlarge and gradually lose function. For Leanna, it meant a childhood of medication and monitoring, but not limitation. 

“I still had a regular life,” she says. “I didn’t let the disease affect my living.” 

Her mom, a single parent raising five children in St. Paul, made sure of that. Despite the challenges, Leanna grew up surrounded by love, especially from her younger brother — the sibling she remains closest to today. 

When kidney disease progressed 

For years, Leanna’s condition was managed. But after having her second child, the strain on her kidneys intensified. At a routine six-month nephrology appointment, her doctor noticed a drop in her kidney function and began preparing her for the possibility of a kidney transplant. 

Getting listed wasn’t automatic. 

“One thing people don’t know,” Leanna explains, “is that you have to keep doing blood work every month to maintain your status on the list.” 

The transplant process involved extensive testing — heart evaluations, stress tests, lab work, etc. — and her case ultimately went before a review board. The biggest surprise for Leanna: Not everyone is approved. Patients must follow medical guidance, attend appointments, manage their health and demonstrate readiness for transplant. 

Leanna did everything asked of her. Aside from her kidneys, she was healthy. She was listed. 

She would wait six years. 

The reality of dialysis 

During that time, Leanna spent a year and a half on dialysis. 

“Dialysis is very, very hard on your body,” she says. “I don’t wish that on anybody.” 

She tried peritoneal dialysis at home but developed peritonitis and transitioned to in-center dialysis. Even then, she often went straight from treatment to work. After 19 years in the operating room at Regions Hospital, she wasn’t ready to give up her routine or her independence. 

Her children began to understand the seriousness of her condition when they saw how dialysis affected her. Some days she felt sick and exhausted. Her schedule changed. Family stepped in. Her sisters, nieces, nephews — everyone showed up. 

“If it wasn’t for my family,” she says, “I don’t know where I’d be.”

The call that changed everything 

The call came while she was at work — in the middle of a case in the operating room (OR). 

“They called my work phone,” she remembers. “She said, ‘We have a kidney for you. It’s a perfect match. Would you be available May 30?’” 

Leanna had a living kidney donor — a 23-year-old woman from San Francisco who donated anonymously. 

“All I know is she was 23, lived in San Francisco and donated out of the kindness of her heart.” 

Race didn’t matter. Age didn’t matter. What mattered was a second chance at life. 

Her boss didn’t hesitate. “Why are you asking me?” he said. “You already know the answer.” 

Her brother flew in. Family gathered. Friends picked up hospital shifts just to be nearby. Her support system surrounded her completely.

Recovery and renewal 

The transplant surgery wasn’t without complications. Leanna developed thrombosis — a blood clot — and required a second procedure the next day. Recovery was slower than she expected. 

“It takes about a year to feel 100%,” she says. 

But gradually, life returned and improved. Her medications dropped from nearly 30 pills a day to just six. Foods she had been restricted from for years were back on the menu. She laughs remembering the hospital nutritionist encouraging her to finally have a cheeseburger and a soda. 

Today, nearly eight years later, she feels strong. 

“I have a normal life,” she says. “I feel really great. I’m very, very thankful.” 

Each year on May 30th, her family celebrates what they call her kidney’s birthday. It’s a milestone not just for her but for all of them. 

Breaking myths in her community 

As both a transplant recipient and a longtime OR professional, Leanna brings rare credibility to conversations about organ donation — especially in communities where mistrust runs deep. 

She understands the fears. She’s heard them. 

“People think doctors won’t save you if you’re a registered donor,” she says. “I’ve worked behind the scenes. That’s not how it works.”

Related: Will doctors still try to save me if I’m an organ donor?

She explains the medical protocols. The testing. The separation between life-saving care and donation decisions. She also addresses another common misconception — that money or race determines who receives an organ.  

“It’s not about money,” she says. “It’s about your medical need and your health.” 

As an African American and Mexican woman, Leanna is passionate about reaching multiethnic communities disproportionately affected by high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease. She speaks candidly about prevention, healthy choices and having family conversations early. 

“If you don’t want it on your license, you can still register [online] and talk to your family,” she tells people. “Have it in a living will. Just talk about it.” 

Those conversations now extend to her own children — and she hopes soon to classrooms in her son’s school. 

“If we start younger,” she says, “we can educate them and take away the fear.”

A LifeSource Ambassador 

Through her work with LifeSource, Leanna has found another calling — supporting families during their hardest moments and educating communities with empathy and truth. 

“One thing I want people to know about LifeSource,” she says, “is that we are there for you.” 

She knows firsthand how important compassionate coordinators are to both donor families and recipients. She’s met families who said yes in the midst of loss, and she carries their generosity with deep reverence. 

Her experience — as a patient, a medical professional, a mother, a sister — makes her both a myth-buster and a source of hope.

Grateful for a second chance 

Leanna doesn’t know her donor’s name. But every five years, she writes a letter, honoring the milestone they now share. 

“I didn’t look at race or age,” she says. “I looked at it as I’m getting a second chance at life.” 

Nearly eight years later, she’s living that second chance fully — celebrating kidney birthdays, advocating in her community and reminding others that behind every transplant is generosity, courage and the power to save a life. 

And for Leanna, that gift will never be taken for granted.