Craigslist kidney donation sparks unique friendship in Palm Beach County

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - A Palm Beach County woman's online plea lead to a life-saving kidney transplant. Now, ten months after surgery, the organ donor and organ recipient have built an unbreakable bond.

It was on Craigslist that c posted her plea. The headline on her listing read 'Young Female Needs Kidney'. She received that kidney - and a whole lot more - after another young woman answered Selina's call for help.

You could call it a 'side effect' of a life-changing medical procedure. Under the knife together for an organ transplant was recipient Selina Hodge and donor Stephanie Grant. They were strangers who suddenly became connected. 

"It's very important that we keep our friendship no matter what," said Selina.

That friendship began with Selina's unlikely posting on Craigslist. She was dealing with kidney failure, and in turn, years of dialysis. She needed help. She needed an organ donor.

"If I didn't take that step to go on Craigslist and post, I think I would honestly still be on that waiting list waiting," she said.
 
The women lived just a few miles apart in Palm Beach County but had never met before. Stephanie saw Selina's story on WPTV NewsChannel 5 and jumped at the chance to help.

"It was a moment of fate," said Stephanie. "It was a gut instinct."

Intensive medical and psychological testing eventually led donor and recipient to a Miami hospital. Ten months after successful transplant surgery, Stephanie now lives 1,200 miles away in Illinois. Just this month, Selina journeyed there to participate in a walk to help offset the costs of organ transplants.

"This is one of the first times she's been able to travel since having the transplant or even since being on dialysis," said Stephanie.

Stephanie and Selina were side by side, just like they were in the operating room.

"This is the person that saved my life," said Selina. "This is the person who is my angel so it felt really good to see her months and months later."

Though the women are now living in different states, they communicate with one another several times a week. Both say as odd as their meeting may seem, they would not change a thing about it.

"We plan on staying connected for our entire lives," said Stephanie.

You can visit Selina's website by clicking here .