Two teachers at Harriet Tubman Charter School share more than a love for education - they now share a lifesaving bond.
Kiara Tarver, a teacher at the school, has sickle cell disease and kidney disease. When she found out she needed a transplant, friend and fellow teacher Sharon Gual stepped up.
“She was telling us what was happening. And I was just like, send me the information. I’m going to try to do this with you. And I was a match,” Gual said.
This week, Gual will donate one of her kidneys to Tarver. The school community is supporting them, wearing green to raise awareness for kidney disease.
Tarver, who waited two years for a match, is filled with gratitude.
“Everything that my sickle cell throws at me, I take with stride,” she said. “So I just was like, whatever the next journey is, is my journey.”
The National Kidney Foundation says the average wait time for a transplant is three to five years, but thanks to Gual, Tarver is getting a second chance much sooner.