Co-workers at Atlanta hospital donate kidneys to each other's husband

Co-workers at Atlanta hospital donate kidneys to each other's husband
Co-workers at Atlanta hospital donate kidneys to each other's husband

A pair of co-workers at an Atlanta hospital helped save their husbands' lives by donating their kidneys to each other's partner after discovering their blood types matched. 

Tia Wimbush and Susan Ellis worked together in the IT department at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for 10 years before they learned in 2019 they had a sad reality in common: both of their husbands' were suffering from kidney disease and needed transplants. 

The women bonded over their shared struggle before realizing one day that they could help each other in a major way. 

They told CNN they were talking about the transplant process while washing their hands in the bathroom at work last September when Tia asked Susan about her husband Lance's blood type. 

They then discovered that Lance's type O negative was a match with Tia's type O - and Tia's husband Rodney's type AB was a match with Susan's type A. 

'All that was going through my head is: "What if we can donate our kidneys to each other's husbands?" I could have never imagined it,' Tia told CNN. 

Six months later, all four friends underwent surgeries to give both Lance and Rodney a new lease on life. 

Co-workers Tia Wimbush (left) and Susan Ellis (right) helped save their husband's lives by donating their kidneys to each other's partner after learning their blood types matched

Co-workers Tia Wimbush (left) and Susan Ellis (right) helped save their husband's lives by donating their kidneys to each other's partner after learning their blood types matched

Susan is pictured with her husband Lance, who was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2010

Tia is pictured with her husband Rodney, who was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2019

The Ellis' battle with kidney disease began when Lance was diagnosed in 2010. He received a transplant from his mother in 2017 but suffered complications that sent him back into renal failure in August 2019. 

Just days before Lance learned he needed a second transplant, Rodney received his diagnosis.  

Tia said her husband, a school teacher, was hospitalized after he told a nurse he wasn't feeling well and she discovered his blood pressure was dangerously high.   

'Within an hour of running tests, they started saying things like: "Has anyone ever mentioned kidney failure to you?"' Tia recalled. 

'And we were like what's happening? What are you talking about? What does this mean for us? It was extremely emotional.'

Rodney and Lance both began undergoing regular dialysis before being put on the

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