Powerful gift: Saskatoon woman giving a kidney to a stranger

A Saskatoon woman is giving the ultimate gift this holiday season.

Marie Green is in the hospital where she is donating one of her kidneys to a complete stranger.

The 66-year-old was going to give her kidney to a friend who was on the transplant list, but when her friend found a better match, she decided she would still donate her kidney.

“I don’t know who it is, I’m just glad to be healthy enough to be at this point,” said Green. “I think it’s a real gift and when you’re going through this process, you realize just how important your health is.”

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) webpage, about 90 people are currently on the wait list for a new kidney in our province. The average wait time for a transplant is nearly three years. That means 437 dialysis treatments per person.

“I just know that this is somebody who will be off dialysis and maybe somebody who will be able to share a more fulfilled and healthy life with their family,” said Green.

Green added, she was glad that someone would be getting this opportunity to hopefully have a healthy new year.