Sorority Sister’s Life-Saving Gift to Friend of 18 Years: ‘Hero’

A call from an old friend is a welcome surprise—sometimes, it could even save your life.

This is what happened to Jess Hause, 37, who received a call from her sorority sister and friend of 18 years to tell her that she was a match for kidney donation. Hause posted the surprise call on her TikTok (@jesshause11) to a viral response from viewers wishing her well. She spoke to Newsweek about her journey with chronic kidney disease since 2023, and about what this once-in-a-lifetime gift means for her future.

In the video, viewers see Hause’s friend, Megan Schultz, call to tell her she is a match, and excited to give Hause a kidney. Hause breaks down in tears and the friends share heartfelt words about what this journey will mean for them.

Hause told Newsweek she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in September of 2023 after a few weeks of facial swelling and leg numbness. When she went to the emergency room, she received the life-changing news.

“The doctor came right in and told me I was in total kidney failure, I needed a kidney biopsy, and a catheter put in my neck to immediately start me on dialysis,” she said. “I have been going [to dialysis] three to four times a week for three and a half hours at a time.”

Dialysis has taken a lot of meticulous planning and energy, Hause said. She is on a strict diet and can only consume 30 ounces of fluid per day, since she retains all of it. When she was trying to gain eligibility for the kidney transplant list, Hause began posting on Instagram about kidney disease and the general shortage of donors out there. Schultz, meanwhile, was taking note.

“She reached out in January after my first story I posted on Instagram about chronic kidney disease and asked if she could help,” Hause said. “At that point, I didn’t even say I was the one with the disease—but she knew I was posting it for a reason, and she asked for the info to be tested.”

A match, and a new future

Once Hause was officially put on the transplant list—a process which took over 15 tests and appointments, from mammograms to dental exams, she said—she began looking for a live donor in April 2024.

On June 13, Schultz called her with the news, and Hause’s life changed.

“My donor, my hero, my angel, the one who is saving my life: Megan Schultz,” Hause said. “We became friends 18 years ago when we met in college … She has always been the sweetest most kind soul, doesn’t have an enemy and we had such a blast in college. She’s brave, loyal and so selfless. She stepped up when not a lot of other people would.”

Schultz went through rigorous testing to see if she was a match for Hause but kept it quiet. Even when she told her she was a match, Hause couldn’t quite believe it.

“It’s not until she said, ‘The doctor said we could talk about scheduling’ when it really sank in. The first few days I was still in total shock and disbelief,” she said. “It had been the most devastating and horrible time of my life, and now there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I just kept thinking, ‘I get my life, freedom and independence back.'”

‘This gift means life’

Hause and Schultz’s surgery is scheduled for November 12. The pair will be able to recover together for a little under a week. They live in different cities, but not for long—Hause is moving to Columbus, Ohio to be near Schultz after the surgery.

“I plan on moving to Columbus once I’m fully recovered so we can keep making memories for years to come,” she said. “We will always be a big part of each other’s lives and I’m so excited to see what’s next.”

Hause said she has been sharing her story not just to find her match, but to raise awareness around organ donation and the shortage that exists for thousands of lives to be saved. She posts reels online of her journey with dialysis, and will continue to document her experience to be a voice for young sufferers of chronic kidney disease.

“This gift means life to me, this means getting a second chance at life,” Hause said. “It’s bigger than anything I can ever fathom, the courage [Shultz] has is remarkable … This is life changing for me, I’m still ‘young’, I still want to get married and have kids—this is my new beginning.”