HCA Virginia colleague doubles as altruistic patient

In 2020, Jarret Johnson drove home from his IT job at Johnston-Willis Hospital and saw a sign with the name and number of someone who needed a kidney. The sign stuck with him and he thought about how difficult it must be to ask strangers for help. He began to research kidney donation, learning more about the living-donor transplant process through an HCA Virginia sister facility, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital.

At just 22 years old, Johnson anonymously donated one of his kidneys and got to see HCA Healthcare through a patient’s eyes. He learned his kidney went to someone young in Wisconsin.

“When I saw the sign on the back of the car and the fact I tried to memorize the number. I had a natural inclination to take it seriously,” Johnson said. “Someone I don’t know needs a kidney and they have the guts to have family and friends put it on a vehicle. They probably don’t expect it to work. What if I could help make it work? It’s something you don’t think will happen — like winning the lottery.”

Even though Johnson’s kidney didn’t go to that particular person, he said he thought he could do the same thing for someone else in need.

“I looked at it as it was a kind thing to do,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who it’s for or whether I know them or not.”

The humble Johnson said things for him haven’t changed since the surgery and he doesn’t think his decision was a big deal. He shares that other people can do it, too, and maybe someone else’s mind could be changed in regard to a living-donor transplant just by knowing you can do it.

 “Some people from the outside look at it like you saved someone’s life,” he said. “For me, I know that I’ve given them more time. I can’t take credit for saving someone’s life.”

Visit the Donate Life Living Donation page to learn more about becoming a living-organ donor.