A Second Chance to Save a Life

July 2023:

Second chances don’t come around often.  So, when Leander Smoot was given the opportunity to donate one of her kidneys to save the life of a friend, she felt compelled to do the right thing.

“When I first read her email, I definitely went back and forth,” said Leander, who lives in Pensacola and works as a clinical transformation specialist at Ascension Providence in Mobile, Ala. “I wish I could say I jumped at the chance the very next day, but that wasn’t the case. I was nervous, but I felt God put this on my heart for a reason.”

Leander said she saw the email plea in January of 2015 and felt a calling. She watched and waited while other candidates were being evaluated as potential donors. None of them were compatible.  After much soul searching and prayer, Leander took the necessary steps to get screened. That was January of 2017. Nine months later, she was in a hospital gown, undergoing surgery at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.

“I knew there was a reason I was feeling called to help her, and I couldn’t ignore it,” said Leander.

The reason was Tommy Jr., Leander’s half-brother. In 2006, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. By January of 2008, the disease had advanced to stage 4. Leander wanted to help him but didn’t know how.

“I began researching, which is when I realized living donation existed,” said Leander.  “He then passed away only nine days later.”

While there was nothing Leander could have done to save her brother, it didn’t stop the what-if scenarios from playing out in her head. What if she had known about living donation? What if she had been able to give her brother the Gift of Life? What if she could be a living donor to someone else?

“Would I be able to go through with it,” she wondered.

It was more than a question of courage. Leander had an extensive family history of cancer that would require careful evaluation. Her dad died from lung cancer. Her mother succumbed to breast cancer. One of her sisters had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.

“My brother and I were close, having been through so much loss together,” Leander said. “I was desperate to hold onto him, but God needed him more I guess.”

Leander is one of those people who can make it through difficult times with little trouble, where others may crumble. Confident in her faith, she said God’s signs were everywhere, and his message of hope was undeniable.

“I thought about her husband, her son and her siblings a lot,” Leander said. “I knew how devastating the loss of a parent was and knew if I could do something that I should.”

Her opportunity came while sitting down to lunch at work one day when a representative from UF Health Shands Hospital called to share the results of her screening. Not only was her kidney compatible for donation, it was a perfect match.

“I knew what God put on my heart to do was exactly what I was meant to do,” Leander said.

Six years later, it’s like it never happened. Both donor and recipient are in good health and doing well.

“My recovery was great,” Leander said. “I am still perfectly healthy. I work out every day, and I am more aware of how much water I drink. I made a promise to myself when I decided to donate to live a healthier lifestyle.”

More than that, advocating for donation is in Leander’s DNA. She trained to be a LifeQuest Ambassador and started the One Kidney Club Northwest Florida as a way to bring donors together and support the living donor community. She also works as a part-time donor advocate at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola where she shared her story at a recent flag-raising event honoring organ, eye and tissue donors.

“I was given the opportunity to help others navigate saving a life,” Leander said. “I thought, what could be a better job than that.”

In 2022, more than 6,400 transplants were made possible by living donors. Visit LifeQuestFla.org to learn more about living donation.

(By Kim Gilmore, LifeQuest Sr. Public Education Coordinator)