This is TAP donor Ambassador, Mike. When Mike found out that his cousin, Cathy, was in end-stage kidney disease and needed a kidney, Mike stepped up to be her donor. In June 2017, Mike donated his kidney to Cathy at London Health Sciences Centre. After a full recovery, Mike was back at work with no ill effects!

As a donor, Mike is grateful to have had the opportunity to make such a difference in someone’s life. Now, eight years later, Mike says the most rewarding part of being a TAP Ambassador is “the opportunity to address misconceptions about living donor transplantation.”

In speaking with a patient who asked “how does one ask someone for a kidney?” Mike shared his and Cathy’s kidney journeys and told the patient “a ‘match’ isn’t always the result of a straightforward ‘ask’.” A year later, that patient reached out to Mike to say that they found a potential donor!