Woman saw appeal on flier and decided to donate her organ

ATLANTA — The picture of the smiling girl on the flier was more than Laura Bolan could take.

The 8-year-old on the pamphlet needed a kidney transplant, and Bolan knew she could help. She did a quick Web search on the surgery and talked it over with her husband. Then she made a phone call to offer one of her kidneys to Sarah Dickman.

The suburban Atlanta girl was born with juvenile nephronophthisis, a genetic disease that slowly destroys the kidneys. Without treatment, it can kill a child before age 15.

Bolan, 34, had never met Sarah when she agreed to donate the organ. "It breaks your heart to know there's a little girl sick out there who you could help," she said.

The two underwent successful surgeries Thursday at hospitals across the street from each other in Atlanta.

Sarah was expected to be in intensive care for at least a day and spend up to a week at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. She said she was looking forward to being free from a dialysis machine so she can spend the night at her best friend's house.

After doctors remove her catheter, she can take bubble baths because there will no longer be the risk of infecting the skin around the tube.

Bolan was expected to return home after a few days at Emory University Hospital.

She saw a flier about Sarah in September at the elementary school that two of her children attend. Sarah attends the same school.

Bolan knew she had the same blood type as Sarah, so she called the number on the flier that evening.

Sarah's parents, Lori and Joe Dickman, had added Sarah's name to a national waiting list for transplant recipients after learning that neither parent was a match to donate a kidney. The flier was a shot in the dark.

The Dickmans received two calls from people interested in donating a kidney. Both were tested, and Bolan was the better match.

"We definitely need more people like Laura in the world," Lori Dickman said.

Joe Dickman wants to add his name to living-donor lists so he can help someone else.

"A thank you doesn't fit for what she's doing," Joe Dickman said of Bolan. "She can call me at 4 in the morning for a gallon of milk. I don't care. I'm indebted to her for life."