My Kidney Donation Story: Kim Rice

I am a Baltimore-based artist. Last spring, another Baltimore artist posted a need for a kidney on Instagram. I quickly looked up what kidney donation entailed and then applied to be a donor. I assumed he was going to need a lot of people to apply to find the right match.

Although I was afraid, it was a quick decision for me to donate. There are so many needs in this world and so much suffering. Often, we can feel like there is nothing we can do. Here was a very specific situation where somebody said “I need help,” and I could help. It just made sense to me: There are a lot of things I can’t do; this is one thing I can do. I am healthy enough and I am brave enough—I can do this.

It was a quick turnaround. I am an educator and parent, so my window was the summer. I found out around May that I could be a match. UMMC worked around the clock to get me in within three months. They did more tests and bloodwork on me than usual because of some abnormalities in my creatinine levels. Eventually they pulled me off of protein and exercise and kept testing me until I cleared.

I donated on August 14, 2024. The surgery was easier than I expected. However, I was not expecting the lack of energy. I just did not have any stamina. Another thing that surprised me was how difficult it was (and still is) to go up inclines. Activity is a hard thing to regulate because you want to get back to your lifestyle and your body keeps saying, “Nope.”

It was hard for me to figure out how to incorporate exercise back into my life because of the decreased stamina. I would go to the gym and then I would bottom out. I couldn’t figure out how to get back to where I wanted to be in any consistent way.

One thing that really helped was running. My sister wanted us to do a half-marathon together. She has had open heart surgery twice. I thought, if she can do it, I can do it. Thanks to an NKR sponsorship, I was able to complete my first half marathon nine months after donating my kidney!

The running did a couple things for me. It built up my stamina, it gave me a goal, and it gave me something completely different to do. I needed to prove to myself that I could do something physically difficult again. To have a goal and reach it post-donation felt really important to me. Being an advocate for living kidney donation and proving to other people that you could still be active afterward was also important.

I would 100% recommend being a living kidney donor. Knowing what I know now, I would do it again. If we take care of our community, we can make the world a better place—it’s really that basic. Science is incredible and our bodies are incredible! We can do so much more than we ever imagined.

About the Author

Kim Rice is an artist, educator, mother, athlete, and living kidney donor. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, she has lived in Oklahoma, California, Louisiana and Maryland. She now calls Baltimore home. Kim lives with her husband of 19 years, their two incredible children, and one sweet dog. Kim has a BFA and MFA from the University of Oklahoma. When she is not in her art studio you can find her exhibiting work around the country and teaching at the Maryland institute of Art. Kim enjoys books, exercise, family, travel and adventure.

Photo by Dee Hardaway