In 2019, Hambright Elementary School teacher Lorien Gilbert learned a fellow staff member at the school was in need of a kidney transplant. Gilbert immediately sought an evaluation at a hospital to determine if she was a compatible donor, but she was denied. Although the staff member was able to receive a transplant from a deceased donor, Gilbert still felt she was meant to become a donor, and she continued to research the process.

Three years later, the father of one of Gilbert's third-grade students needed a kidney transplant. Gilbert once again underwent testing at a hospital in Philadelphia, a process that took nearly seven months to complete. By the time Gilbert was approved, her student's father had found another compatible donor, but Gilbert still knew there was someone out there whom she could help.

"If I can help with something, I'm going to," Gilbert said. "I've been an organ donor all my life, but I never realized how important living donations are." In addition to researching organ donation, Gilbert is a regular blood and plasma donor. Gilbert's blood type is O+, making her a compatible donor for many other blood types. After her second attempt at becoming a kidney donor, Gilbert began looking into the requirements for an altruistic donation, which would allow her to pledge a kidney to the next patient in need of a transplant.

In July 2023, one of Gilbert's students told her about a woman named Sarah Weiss in Williamsport. Weiss, a member of the student's prayer group, lost her right kidney to cancer in 2010, and her second kidney was quickly failing. Gilbert contacted Weiss via email to ask for permission to begin the donation process, and four months later, the two women underwent a successful kidney transplant.

In the weeks following the surgery, Gilbert received a gift basket and cards from her students to wish her a speedy recovery. The kids also gifted Gilbert a book they had made themselves titled "Where Is Ms. Gilbert's Kidney?" On Jan. 10, after Gilbert returned to the classroom, the third-graders had an opportunity to learn about the procedure during a video call with Weiss. "They had a lot of questions. The first one was 'Don't you need your kidney?" Gilbert said.

Weiss' parents thanked Gilbert for her donation by sending her flowers on Valentine's Day, which coincides with National Organ Donation Day. "(Weiss') mom said I saved her daughter's life, which means I'm her daughter now," Gilbert said.

According to http://www.mayoclinic.org, transplants that are completed with a living donor instead of a deceased donor have a much higher success rate. Gilbert said she encourages anyone who is interested in becoming a donor to visit http://www.kidney.org or ask a primary care provider to learn more.