Kendall Henderson Donates a Kidney to Save His Mother’s Life

“Seeing her cry every day, I just couldn’t see her like that,” he said.

Kendall Henderson donated his kidney to his mom with a rare condition

His mother is all smiles now

TOWN AND COUNTRY, Missouri. – Kebra Peebles is all smiles now but that wasn’t always the case. A rare kidney condition led to her undergoing dialysis and eventually receiving two kidney transplants at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.

“Dialysis itself is so grueling,” Peebles said.

Doctors said it was possible she would not survive the birth due to her condition, but Peebles was determined not to terminate two pregnancies. Little did she know that her son, Kendall Henderson, would years later donate his own kidney to help save her life.

According to Kendall, seeing his mom suffer from dialysis every day was difficult for him, especially when Kebra started to have complications. Peebles shared, “I started having complications, but it gave me 14 years (the first transplant) of a wonderful life.”

That is why when Kendall reached 18 years old; he started thinking of donating his kidney to save his mom.

The thought of Kendall donating his kidney was something that Kebra objected to at first. She said, “I was against it because he’s my son, and he’s, my baby.”

However, Kendall continued to convince his mom of the idea of having another kidney transplant. Kendall’s reason was, “Seeing her cry every day, and I just couldn’t see her like that.”

Teen donates kidney to save his mother’s life

After undergoing her second transplant, Kebra feels like a new person. She said, “I feel great now.”

Because it was her son who donated the kidney, she is very thankful for him. She said, “I would just like to publicly thank my son for giving me life.”

Dr. Krista Lentine is a kidney physician and the medical director of living donation at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital. She said living donors often lead to better outcomes for patients.

“Living donors can help bridge the gap between the need for organs and the organ supply,” Lentine said.

She said there are more than 91,000 kidney persons awaiting a transplant in the United States. She said that number includes 1,400 persons in Missouri with many of those persons living in the St. Louis area.

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