Daughter Donates Kidney To End Mother’s Nightly Dialysis, Recovering After Transplant At Baylor Scott And White

Daughter Gives Mother New Lease On Life With Living kidney transplant At Dallas Hospital

USA: A Fort Worth musician traded electric riffs for an acoustic set as she prepared for a living kidney transplant that would transform her mother’s health. Jennifer Sturgis, who had been managing kidney failure with nightly peritoneal dialysis at home in Irving, was the donor for her mother Shirley in an operation performed January 30 at Baylor Scott and White in Dallas. Doctors report the transplant was successful and both donor and recipient are recovering well.

The choice to be a living donor followed testing of both sisters and a shared determination to improve the recipient’s quality of life. The peritoneal dialysis machine that had been part of daily life for the mother required a tube that runs about 10 hours every night, circulating fluid through the abdomen to substitute for failing kidneys. The transplant removed that burden and opened the possibility of greater activity and wellness for the recipient.

Beyond the clinical milestones, the story is rooted in family resilience. Shirley is a three-time cancer survivor and a widow who lost her husband to prostate cancer eight years ago; family members describe her as generous and steady through many hardships. Her daughter’s decision to donate came from a desire to preserve family life and to continue raising the next generation, themes echoed in the acoustic songs performed before surgery.

Medical staff at Baylor Scott and White guided the transplantation and post-operative care, and both women are in recovery with emotions running high as they adjust to the change. The episode ties together the urgency of organ failure, the role of living donors in expanding transplant options, and the human drive to keep family and music going despite long odds.

Video originally published on 2026-02-20 23:38:05