Two years ago today, on December 17, 2019, I donated my left kidney to someone I don't know, in exchange for my son getting his new kidney from someone else (who we didn't know at the time but we do now!) in October of that year.
I documented my journey by making three paintings. The first was Dates in a Life: Kidney Donor Testing,
This painting, Dates in a Life: Kidney Donation, documented finding a recipient for my kidney, a donor being found for my son and his receiving a new kidney in Seattle near the end of October 2019, many calls and emails to my medical team, talking to people who have received or donated a kidney, the date in December 1975 when my father died after he got his kidney transplant but didn't live long enough to be released from the hospital, having my donation surgery in Seattle on December 17, 2019 and my recuperation in Seattle until December 27th, and then at home in Natick, MA through February 23, 2020 when the second painting was finished.
I also made a third painting, Dates in a Life: Kidney Donor Anniversary documented the year after I donated.
