Living Donor Transplant Gives Patient New Life at Saint Luke’s

A living kidney donor from Denver helped give a Missouri woman a second chance at life through Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City’s transplant program — an example of the lifesaving impact of living organ donation. Joanna Tejero volunteered to donate a kidney after learning her sister needed a transplant. Although she was not a match for her sibling, she chose to remain in the donor registry, determined to help someone in need. In September 2025, that decision led her to Saint Luke’s, where she donated a kidney to Candice Blankenship, a patient who had spent more than two years waiting for a transplant.

Blankenship entered Saint Luke’s transplant program after a 2023 medical crisis revealed stage 4 chronic kidney disease and congestive heart failure. After extensive evaluations, she was placed on the waiting list for a living-donor kidney and endured years of uncertainty, including a missed transplant opportunity when she tested positive for COVID-19. Her long-awaited call finally came on Sept. 9, 2025, when a donor kidney became available through Saint Luke’s. The transplant was successful, and shortly afterward, Blankenship met Tejero. Both women have recovered following the transplant.

Saint Luke’s is a leader in transplantation and is committed to expanding access to living kidney donation. The health system performed the Kansas City region’s first kidney transplant in 1969 and has completed more than 2,500 kidney transplants since then. Hospital leaders note that kidneys from living donors often function better and last longer than those from deceased donors, helping patients avoid years of dialysis and enjoy a better quality of life

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