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2015 WALKER

 JOANNE BURKA

Kidney Donor
Age 53 ~ Charleston, WVA
Office Sales Operations Manager

Sponsored by Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE)


JoAnne Burka and Dawn Gallo had been friends for 40 years. When Dawn was a high school senior, she began a lifelong struggle with lupus, an autoimmune disease that affected her kidneys and heart. Twenty-six years later, JoAnne had wanted to give Dawn a kidney, but they weren't a match and the local kidney exchange never took place. When Dawn's struggles finally ended with her peaceful passing in December 2011, 50-year-old JoAnne decided to give the gift of life in Dawn's name. "When life gets crazy, I look at the scar and remember what really matters: I was able to save a life," she reflected. JoAnne now uses her living donor experience to inspire others to become donors.


JoAnne's Story

JoAnne Burka's decision to become a living kidney donor was sparked by her 40-year friendship with her best friend, Dawn Gallo. As a high school senior, Dawn discovered she had lupus, an autoimmune disease that affected certain major organs. Twenty-six years later, after countless dialysis treatments, Dawn's pain levels became unbearable.

Seeing her best friend go through this was too much for JoAnne, and she offered to donate her kidney to Dawn to alleviate a portion of her illness. Unfortunately, JoAnne was not a direct match with Dawn, and the doctor directed her to her local hospital's kidney exchange program. For various reasons, the exchange never took place.

Four years later, Dawn's condition deteriorated, and she was taken off of the kidney transplant list. In December 2011, during a peaceful nap not long after her 50th birthday, Dawn passed away. In a moment of reflection, 50-year-old JoAnne felt that two people had died - Dawn and another recipient who would have been saved if she had donated her kidney. JoAnne decided to finish what she started and honor Dawn's memory by saving a life.

JoAnne contacted her local hospital's kidney exchange program to begin the donation process for a second time. After being redirected to the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), JoAnne was quickly matched with a recipient under the Living Donor Program and set a date for surgery -ironically, four years to the day after she had first spoken with Dawn about donation. The three-hour surgery resulted in JoAnne's kidney giving a woman suffering from polycystic kidney disease a chance at more years of life.

After a swift recovery, JoAnne's life is back to normal, even completing the Charleston Distance Run Relay running 12 miles only four months post-surgery. She has since become a volunteer with CORE to inspire others to become donors.

"When life gets crazy, I look at the scar and remember what really matters: I was able to save a life," Joanne said. "God gives us a spare kidney. Why not help others in need if you can? Now, Dawn lives on through others that came from my kidney exchange string of seven."