Rotorua’s Kylie Wright was in “desperate” need of a kidney transplant when she was a student at Tauranga’s Face and Beauty Academy three years ago. When tutor Madeline Wright learned of Kylie’s need, she told Kylie she wanted to donate a kidney to her. “She was literally dying in front of my eyes,” Madeline says. Then, they fell in love. Megan Wilson tells their story.
Rotorua woman Madeline Wright remembers turning to her classroom and saying to Kylie: “I’m going to donate my kidney to you”.
Kylie “burst into tears” and asked Madeline - a single mother with a young daughter - if she was sure.
“I think it took me a couple of days to really process that someone is willing to put their life on the line to save mine,” Kylie told the Rotorua Daily Post.
Pair ‘fell in love’ during kidney transplant process
The pair were not together when Madeline told Kylie she wanted to donate her kidney.
“It was sort of through all the process of it that we fell in love.”
Madeline said she had not “come out of the closet” at the time.
“It was just I had to meet the right person.”
On the surgery waitlist after six months of testing
Madeline said to be an eligible donor, the pair had to have the same blood type and antibodies.
After about six months of testing and a six-hour interview with a psychologist to ensure they were “mentally sound”, the pair was confirmed as compatible.
Madeline said they were put on the waitlist for surgery at Auckland City Hospital.
They had two confirmed dates, both of which were cancelled after they got Covid.
The surgery took place on April 24, 2023.
Madeline said her procedure took four hours. Her kidney was then laid to “rest” for an hour before Kylie had her seven-hour surgery.
Two days later, she met with a kidney renal specialist who diagnosed her with a kidney disease called IgA nephropathy. In a healthy person, the antibody IgA helps fight infection but Kylie’s IgA attacks her kidneys.
Her option was chemotherapy or “they’re not going to last”, she was told.
She initially had six rounds of chemotherapy which “didn’t work” and was prescribed medication.
Kylie’s condition meant she had to give “everything” up, including her beauty therapist diploma.
In 2021: “I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t move ... I couldn’t eat”.
She was rushed to Waikato Hospital and put on dialysis.
Clarification: This story has been updated to state that Kylie Wright and Madeline Wright were at Tauranga’s Face and Beauty Academy when the kidney donation was offered. The academy was renamed the Elite School of Beauty and Spa in 2022.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.