When Las Vegas Metro Police Department officer Raquita Elmore entered the hospital with kidney failure and learned she was in desperate need of a transplant, she had no idea her future kidney donor was there in the room with her. Fellow LVMPD officer Christina Martinez heard the diagnosis and immediately said, “I’ll give her a kidney. What do I have to do?”
After going through all the required evaluating tests, Christina was deemed a good match and almost three years later, surgery was scheduled. Both women traveled to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, for the procedure in July 2021.
“I don’t know how I will ever repay Christina,” she says. “She gave me my life back!”
“It’s just amazing when someone steps forward to help another person like that,” says Donald Morris, MD, Intermountain’s kidney transplant medical director.
Christina was back home in Las Vegas within a week after the surgery. Raquita had some ups and downs but was back home to her family after just three weeks. Both received their care before and after the transplantation in Las Vegas.
“Now I take a few medications in the morning and a few at night and I can do everything with my three kids,” Raquita says. “And they see a happier, healthier, more energized mom.”
“The thought of my kidney making her feel amazing and look so much better and healthier—and able to be there for her family for years and years to come—that’s enough for me,” Christina says.
“Unfortunately, every day 11 or 12 people die waiting for a kidney transplant,” Dr. Morris told 8 News Now Las Vegas. “Living kidney donation offers quite a bit of hope for these patients and is really life-changing for them. Living kidney donation often allows us to do the transplant sooner and the outcomes are usually better than compared to a deceased donor. On average a living kidney transplant doubles the life expectancy of the recipient. It also greatly improves their quality of life while decreasing their overall health costs.”
“It’s not as scary as you think,” says Christina. “You can give someone the gift of life and extend someone’s life. It’s a gift with no words.”
To register as an organ donor, check “YES” at your next visit to the DMV or visit registerme.org. You can sign up to become a living donor on Intermountain’s website. And don’t forget to share with your family your decision to be an organ donor.
Watch Raquita and Christina’s story on 8 News Now Las Vegas.