Minnesota State Trooper Kristie Sue Hathaway earned a commendation in 2012 for saving a life on the job, but it’s not the only lifesaving move she has made.
In 2021, Hathaway stepped forward to donate a kidney. In May, she made a second donation, this time giving away a piece of her liver.
Both donations were non-directed, meaning the organs went to total strangers. Hathaway told CBS News that she learned about the process of non-directed live organ donation when a friend fell ill. She wanted to donate an organ then, but was the wrong blood type. Still, the situation stirred something in her, and she decided to “look into what goes into donating a kidney.”
“Once I did some digging, I learned that … you don’t need to know the person. And I was like, ‘I’ll do that. I’m healthy, and if I ever came across someone that needed one, I’d give them a kidney, so why not?'” Hathaway, 40, told CBS News. “I just felt like I needed to do it.”