Friends and family,

Before all else, thank you for visiting this page.

My name is Nadia Popovici and I am a 24 year old medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

One of the hardest things that I have had to come to terms with pursuing medicine is that sometimes you can know everything about a disease, from the way it will progress in the future to the cellular cause of each symptom experienced, and still, you may not be able to save someone’s life. In the case of kidney disease in the U.S., over 90 thousand people are on the waiting list for a transplant. 13 of them die every day. You can have the best doctors, a solidified diagnosis, a treatment plan… but what can you do when there’s simply not enough kidneys to go around?

I just happened to have two.

Last week, I had the honor of donating a kidney to someone on the National Kidney Registry. I understand that I am privileged to be young, healthy, and have the life circumstances that allow me to undergo this process. I put a lot of thought into this decision, and with each scan and blood test, I became more confident that it was something important for me to do.

As much as I am committing myself to a life in medicine, life is meant to be spent outside of hospitals and dialysis centers. If I get to save even one patient and their loved ones a fraction of extra time together, that is all I could want.

If you have the means, it would mean the world to me if you could donate to the Northwest Kidney Centers on my behalf. They are a local non-profit organization with no affiliation to me, but I am sincerely inspired by their work providing dialysis, research, and education to the same patients I may see in the future.

Ultimately, I am so grateful whether or not you donate. I have linked my donation page below, which includes an open letter to the stranger who received my kidney. Their transplant was successful, and I sincerely wish them the happiest, healthiest life possible as they move forward.

-

Dear recipient,

Our bodies are beautiful and tragic at the same time. Beautiful because we are made of 100 trillion cells, each filled with 100 trillion more atoms, and they are all serving a distinct purpose. Some are placeholders and building blocks. Some are communicators and messengers. And some are even sacrificing themselves right now, fighting to the death to keep us alive. 

As a medical student, I am struck with awe learning about the infinite ways our bodies are incredible. They’re intelligent, powerful, resilient. So where does the tragedy come in? Well… out of those 100 trillion molecules in those 100 trillion cells, some just happen to make mistakes. 

I can’t imagine the pain you’ve been going through. Whether it’s a recent diagnosis or one you’ve been fighting for a long time, I know you’ve been desperate for that one piece missing from your puzzle. A kidney. Soon, I hope you give me the honor of filling in that missing piece.

One more thing that our body is amazing at…second chances. It might be my kidney, but it’s your own body that will step in, ensure your safety, and soon, adopt it as it’s own. I hope that after all of this is over, you too get a second chance. A second chance to see the sunset over the ocean, to laugh until your face is sore, to smell the pine and cool air of autumn approaching. I equally hope for you to get the chance to feel the dull pain of a rainy day, or to hold a loved one as you both mourn a loss. The chance to feel frustrated, angry, excited, loved and everything in between. I hope you feel it all. Life is beautiful, isn’t it? 

But if a point comes where it’s all too much and the pain is overwhelming. When it’s 3 am and you’re sitting in the dark wondering what you’re worth. I hope you look down, run your fingers over the scar that I now mirror, and know in your heart that somebody, somewhere wants you to live.

With all my love, strength, and admiration,

Nadia