Our kidney transplant journey began about two years ago; since the beginning, Stephanie has been incredibly caring and compassionate. She is a trustworthy and reliant individual, who makes you feel like you are her priority. Her dedication goes above and beyond, her hard work and perseverance made my husband's kidney transplant possible, in an efficient manner. What makes her unique and outstanding, is the fact that not only was she my living donor nurse, but she would also go out of her way to help out my husband, who was the recipient, even though it was not her responsibility. My husband and I are extremely grateful to have had her in our kidney transplant journey. UC Davis Medical Center has the great privilege to have nurse Stephanie Baroni as part of their team, she is truly an extraordinary human being.
***
Living Donor kidney transplants are very special. In these transplants, a healthy person (donor) offers one of their kidneys to be surgically removed and placed into another person (recipient) whose kidneys no longer function properly. The surgery, however, is only a small part of a long journey for the donor and recipient.
Well before the transplant, the first contact starts with the prospective recipient and then with the donor. Because live donor kidneys have the best outcomes, all prospective recipients are asked to look for potential donors if possible. Every day, living donor transplant coordinators help prospective kidney recipients find the best donor match - and, in this case, a wife wanted to donate to her husband.
This donor began her journey when she completed the donor questionnaire. She met Stephanie through the follow-up phone call and screening. After this phone call, the prospective donor came to the transplant center for education, followed by the first phase of the evaluation. The evaluation process is lengthy to prevent harm to the donor. Stephanie's role includes coordination of all testing; imaging studies, lab work and consults while advocating for the prospective donor.
More than 100 people can be screened before one donor is selected. Stephanie works with all the potential donors and often times has to deliver sensitive news to people who do not a match or are not healthy enough to donate. This can be emotionally draining, even for the strong coordinators.
When a good match is found; much testing, labs, evaluations, and consults were completed to arrive at that moment. In the background, Stephanie has gathered the information, advocated for the donor and presented the donor to a multi-disciplinary team for approval to donate.
Stephanie is tireless and passionate about her work. It is evident in the care she provides. She has a personal connection with all of her patients and follows-up with them long after the transplant has been completed. We often talk about the difficulties of going through the process, and how devastating it is to turn-down a donor. All that pales in comparison to the reward of seeing a donor selected to give the gift of life.
Stephanie's work and the support of her patients does not stop at the end of her workday. Stephanie has been a major participant in many transplant foundation activities. She played with the Sacramento Kings at a Donate Life event where she actually ran on the court and sank a shot! For the local organ procurement organization's Be the Gift 5K race, Stephanie completed the race with her dog in tow. Stephanie also supports families in small community efforts such as raising money through a lemonade stand. Donor families recognize that she truly cares about them and supports them through all their struggles. Stephanie was also instrumental in the formal recognition of a special family whose contributions to living donor transplantation at UC Davis was much appreciated.
Although Stephanie's work does involve being at a patient's bedside, her dedication to the living donor transplant program helps give a lot of people a new lease on life by fulfilling the wish of others to be noble. Her attention to patients and their families helps drive the positive work of the UC Davis Health Transplant Center. Our program is strong because of the passion and extraordinary care Stephanie gives to each and every one of her patients.
Recently, the Chief Nursing Officer visited a living donor. During the visit, the patient commented on the care she and her husband received from Stephanie: "We couldn't have a more perfect person in our organization. That you, Stephanie, are amazing and have always been there for her (the donor). That you have been there every step of the way in this journey."
Stephanie's knowledge, experience, passion, care, and transplant coordination skills help patients on a daily basis. Although not every donor is accepted, Stephanie commits to compassionate care for all donor applicants. She is truly an example of a DAISY Nurse.