She gave a kidney, then someone needed a liver. Texas woman in rare company after donations
Gina Shaffron only wanted to save a life — for the second time.
She did that, but she also became a part of an elite group. She has donated a kidney and part of her liver in the past decade, making her one of fewer than 100 people in the world to be a double organ donor.
She also found the love of her life in the process.
“The Lord kept putting it on my heart to donate my kidney, but I thought you had to be related to someone to donate, and truthfully I didn’t know the first thing about organ donation or ever thought I would ever do that,” the 36-year-old Shaffron said. “One day my best friend Timmy and I were playing disc golf and Timmy asked me to pray for his brother Kyle.
“I immediately started praying for Kyle, and that’s when the Lord clearly said ‘Donate for Kyle.’”
Kyle Clifford, who lived in Milwaukee, was in desperate need. He had received one kidney transplant from his father that lasted for 20 years but was now failing. So, to stay alive he needed someone else to step up and come to the rescue.
And while she came forward, the kidney that actually saved his life wasn’t from Shaffron. It appeared she was a match until the last test.
But where there’s a will, a life can be saved, she and doctors proved.
“God had a better idea, and that was to offer a pairing exchange,” Shaffron said. “Which is where I donated to a complete stranger and a stranger would donate to Kyle. We know his came from a woman in Ohio, and mine went to an older woman in Pennsylvania.
“So on Sept 17, 2013, I donated a ‘Kidney for Kyle,’” she said, smiling with air quotes.
She and Clifford are now girlfriend and boyfriend and have a baby daughter named Gloria. They live in Burleson.
“I tell everyone I gave Kyle a kidney and he gave me a kid,” Shaffron said with a chuckle.
Clifford called Shaffron a gift herself.
“Her efforts to help others are rare and profound. She has a light that shines exquisitely bright,” he said. “The greatest gift of all is Gina’s love, and that makes me the luckiest guy in the world.”
Second donation
During her hospital stay in Milwaukee, where she traveled to make the donation, a friendly nurse told her about a particular website and gave her an interesting bit of information, Shaffron said.
“She was such a beautiful believer. She told me the Lord told her to tell me I was going to donate another organ,” she recalled. “Nine years later a woman named Heidi from California reached out to me desperately in urgent need of a liver — from that website.”
Shaffron didn’t hesitate to make the journey west to Los Angeles — she’s originally from Irvine, California, so it was a return home of sorts. She donated a part of her liver to save Heidi’s life on Aug. 3, 2022.
Following her rescue by Shaffron, Heidi Juswanto got married earlier this year.
There is another twist to the second donation. Shaffron was pregnant and did not know. Had it been discovered, she would likely not have been allowed to donate.
“I was a month pregnant and it showed up negative the morning of the surgery when the nurse checked, and Heidi got her liver,” she said. “It was all meant to be.”
Juswanto said Shaffron came through in the nick of time. She had all but given up hope after many attempts to find a donor had failed, she said.
“I was dying. I had end stage liver disease,” Juswanto said. “I’m so grateful that there are people like Gina out there who are willing to help people they don’t even know.”
Rare company
Shaffron realizes there aren’t many others like her in the world. While she understands she is part of a special group, she wishes that wasn’t the case.
“I wish there were more, but I understand,” She said. “I always love when I can make people aware and be available to donate.”
Through it all, Shaffron said she had the support of both of her parents, though they were admittedly a bit scared.
“Gina is a miracle and my only child, and fear came upon me that something could happen to her — and what about her future to have children?” Gina’s mother, Marie Shaffron, said. “All I could do was trust in God that everything would work out for all.
“Of course, I was proud of her, and to see her on the hospital bed with a huge smile and not a nervous bone in her, I had to remember she was saving a life.”
Her father passed away in 2018, but her mother, who had retired and moved to Texas in 2021, was by her side for the second donation.
“She sat at USC (Keck Hospital) hospital every day with a mandatory mask on, caring for me as best she could,” Shaffron said. “She took care of me during my recovery, which didn’t go smoothly because it turned out I was pregnant with Gloria.
“Mom is mine and my 4 month’s bestie. The rest of my family was also super supportive both times.”
Zest for life
Shaffron’s love for helping others begins with the passion she has for enjoying her own life. Obviously, to donate not only once, but twice, she is in great health.
“I love to run. I’m not the fastest but I love it,” she said excitedly. “I have a huge fun medal collection.”
But mostly she’s thrilled that she could be there when someone needed her to continue enjoying their own lives.
“I’m just so thankful that I was chosen and decided to be a donor both times,” she said. “So many blessings, including the love of my life and daughter, and seeing Heidi get married and making a special friend.
“I’d also like to thank all the transplant staff in the world. They are amazing.”
