DUNNVILLE—After a long and emotional search for a living kidney donor, Jodi Park, a 36-year-old mother, wife, and support worker at Community Living Haldimand, ultimately found her match close to home – her own father, Todd Park.
The news comes a little over half a year after Park’s lifelong friend Alex Byrne launched the ‘Kidney for Jodi’ campaign, as reported in The Press in April 2025. The campaign drew tremendous community response and led to strangers across Canada completing compatibility tests and offering words of support.
Byrne refused to take credit for the outcome, stating, “I asked a friend to make a flyer and I simply made a post. Every person out there who shared and talked about it are the ones who made the magic happen!”
Byrne continued, “I’m just glad to see a happy ending for my friend and to see her health change drastically for the better literally just days after surgery.”
Park suffers from a rare condition, Vesicoureteral Reflux, which causes urine to flow backward from the bladder into the ureters and sometimes up to the kidneys. While Park had essentially been in kidney failure her entire life, it only became apparent to her at age 16.
Earlier this year, she began dialysis treatments while the hunt for a donor continued. Her father was confirmed a match in August and the transplant was set for October 23.
It was a tough road right up to the day of surgery, with Park forced to limit her social circle to immediate family members as she began a medication that “completely killed her immune system,” according to Byrne.
In the end, the procedure went smoothly, and Park was released from the hospital on October 27 to recover at home.
“When I found out that I had a match and a transplant date, it was overwhelmingly surreal – and a whole other world of worries,” said Park. “Now I had to worry about my dad‘s health afterwards; I had to worry about medications and surgery. But I was also very excited for the next chapter.”
On her father’s choice to donate, she said, “I couldn’t be more grateful. How many people can say they’ve given someone the gift of life twice in one lifetime? There are no words to say thank you to him, but just to live my best life and show him what he gave me.”
With the transplant complete, Park said she now realizes just how sick she truly was before.
“One of the immediate benefits of receiving a new kidney is the energy. Everyone says that my colour looks good. My eyes are clearer. I’m ready to get up and go,” said Park.
Park is thankful her dialysis and transplant journey were mercifully short compared to many others. The experience has given her new insights.
“It’s truly taught me not to judge what you see on the outside because you really have no idea what any individual person is going through on the inside,” she said. “Some people look perfectly fine, but inside they’re not, and I was one of those people.”
“Receiving this new kidney gives me the freedom to come and go as I please,” she added. “To work when I want to work, and to travel again soon, hopefully. Most importantly, I can be a more active mom for my kids and a better wife for my husband.”
Park feels amazement at the level of support she received, from positive messages to people getting tested as a potential match.
“It truly feels amazing, I can’t explain it,” said Park. “To anybody that is thinking of donating too – please do it. The way I feel today compared to two weeks ago is night and day.”
Byrne once again thanked the community for the “genuinely amazing and shocking” response her plea generated.
“It opened up a lot of conversations about the amount of people who need an organ and brought forth a lot of people, technically strangers to us, who have been a recipient and a donor, and it was incredible to hear their stories,” said Byrne.
She recalled a touching moment along the way during this September’s Kidney Walk in Niagara. A participant had ‘Jodi’ written on their name tag to show their support, despite not knowing Jodi personally.
“They have just been following along the journey, were there to support, and had actually completed the questionnaire and gone through testing,” said Byrne. “They came and met Jodi, and Jodi was floored that they were behind the scenes the whole morning, just to support her.”
Byrne said that same kind stranger continued to offer support, donating frozen dinners for Jodi and her father to eat after the procedure.
Ultimately, Park hopes her story will help many more people.
“If you’re considering being a donor, please do it. I can’t explain how much it’s changed my life already,” she said. “If you’re waiting on a transplant, it’s worth the wait, I promise. I was so scared of all the medications and the aftermath of a transplant, and it’s all worth it.”
Byrne encouraged those moved by Park’s story to consider supporting Norfolk resident Jaden Banfield, who is also awaiting a kidney donor.
“I would like to give a big heartfelt thank you! Thank you to everyone for being such good, kind humans.”
