Jill Miller’s sudden kidney failure and time on dialysis convinced her to help others as a physician. After receiving a kidney transplant, she went on to create a green ribbon-adorned beanie bear to inspire people to donate life, a precursor to her company Charity Bear. She now practices medicine in an underserved area.

Jill's Story

When Jill Miller was 26, her kidneys began to fail due to an undiagnosed case of strep throat. She spent 18 months on dialysis as she awaited a transplant. During that time, she had the opportunity to act as a patient liaison between the patients of her dialysis clinic and the staff as a patient representative. Helping others on dialysis spurred Jill to pursue a medical career.

Two weeks before her pre-med classes began, Jill was on a date when the call came that a match had been found. Actually, Jill found 24 calls on her home answering machine. Her date rushed her to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for the life-saving kidney transplant.

“My life changed dramatically overnight. My quality of life increased tremendously. Everything went so well that I spent only five days in the hospital,” said Jill, now 39. A year later, she found out that she had an advanced stage of breast cancer. Without the transplant, she would not have been able to endure the life-saving chemotherapy; the transplant saved her life twice. Happily, she has been cancer-free since 1997.

While studying to be a physician, Jill came up with the idea of making a beanie bear with the international symbol for organ donation – a green ribbon symbol – embroidered on his chest. The little bear also sported the words “Gift of Life” embroidered on his back. Jill’s new company, Charity Bear, was born. She worked closely with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF of the Alleghenies) and donated the profits from the sale of the bears to its Transplant Games team to inspire people to be organ donors.

Jill’s next project was a bear for breast cancer research. She called the bear “Hope” and designed a little hat that resembled her favorite hat from her chemo days. The three rosettes on the hat represent the three treatment modalities of cancer: surgery, chemo, and radiation.

Charity Bear has been a great success and has enabled Jill to donate thousands of dollars to help others. In 2006, Jill graduated from medical school and is currently a family practice resident at a community hospital in Meadville, PA.

“I am practicing medicine in a medically underserved area, so that I can maximize my ability to help people,” said Jill. “I will be celebrating my 11th kidney birthday in August. I am grateful for my kidney transplant that has made all of this possible.”