2019 Rachel Bennett Steury

Name:                                    Rachel Bennett Steury

Type of Donation:             Living kidney donor

Age and Location:             Age 41 – Studio City, CA

Donation Date:                   7/26/2012

Sponsor:                               Honored by One Legacy

RACHEL’S STORY

Rachel Bennet Steury knew from an early age that organ donation was important. Rachel and her sister used to love spending time with their uncle Ed. They were heart-broken when he passed away during Rachel’s teenage years.

Despite her grief, Rachel’s grandmother chose to celebrate her son’s life by donating his organs.  The letter Rachel’s family received from the Organ Procurement Organization in Indiana after his passing shed light on just how many people benefitted from his gift. This letter became a badge of honor for Rachel’s grandmother. She was so proud of Uncle Ed, for his life and for how he helped so many after his death. Each year around Ed’s birthday, Rachel’s grandmother would share the letter and tell stories of his life.

In 2010, Rachel watched a Katie Couric news segment about kidney chains that changed her life and the lives of others. “I felt like Katie Couric was talking directly to me through that screen,” she said. Previously unaware of living donation, Rachel thought that donating a kidney to a stranger in need sounded like the most amazing thing in the world.

By coincidence, the news segment aired during Rachel’s birthday month in November. Rachel has a special tradition each year: for her birthday, she does something special to thank the world for another year of life. This would usually consist of donating blood or attending a fundraising event. However, in 2010, Katie Couric showed up in Rachel’s living room at exactly the right time. After some research, she signed up to start a chain with the National Kidney Registry.

Once approved to become a donor, Rachel chose July 26 as her surgery date. And on that day in 2012, at the age of 35, Rachel’s kidney flew from Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, to Pittsburgh.  In return, a second kidney flew from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Unbeknownst to Rachel, the other kidney was transplanted into a man in the same hospital, just down the hall.

Rachel’s donation was inspired by compelling stories from her grandmother and Katie Couric.  She learned that stories could encourage ordinary people to do extraordinary things. This is the reason why she became a OneLegacy Ambassador in 2016 to share her story. Rachel doesn’t personally care to be called an “altruistic donor.” She shares, “It makes me sound different from everyone else. In reality, my story is a story anyone could tell if they wanted to.”

“Stories change lives. All we have to do is tell them,” says Rachel.