Sarah Kamaras (she/her) is a New Yorker, a freelance animation producer and illustrator, a filmmaker, a dog lover, and so much more. She’s also a living kidney donor. This past year, Sarah learned just how important living kidney donation can be when she was able to donate her left kidney to someone in need – her Dad.
Now she’s raising awareness about kidney disease and hoping to inspire conversations about living kidney donation through her Bonfire campaign, “It Only Takes One”.
Here is Sarah’s story, written in her own words.
“In August 2022, I proudly donated my left kidney to my Dad.
When my Dad was first diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, I was gutted. Any term that precedes with “end-stage,” often proceeds with finality. With terminality. But I soon discovered just how potentially life saving treatment can be – specifically living kidney donation.
There are 100,000 people awaiting a kidney transplant in the U.S. The average wait time is 3-5 years. In my hometown of New York, it’s 5-7 years. It goes without saying that many people don’t make it off that list. Living kidney donation is one the most effective treatments to help someone with kidney failure get better and improve their quality of life. That’s why I launched my Bonfire fundraising campaign – to raise awareness about kidney disease and the benefits of living kidney donation.
All proceeds from the campaign go directly to the National Kidney Foundation.
The inspiration behind the design is two-fold:
- For donors, it only takes one kidney to live a healthy life.
- For recipients, it only takes one kidney to save a life.
My hope is that when someone wears the “It Only Takes One” tee or sweatshirt it can spark a conversation – to educate and inspire others about living kidney donation.
Finally, I want to give a special shoutout to my Mom. Going through the kidney transplant process is very stressful, both for the donor and recipient. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”
So far, Sarah’s “It Only Takes One” campaign has raised over $1,500 for the National Kidney Foundation.
