Woman donates kidney to her former English teacher
Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008
The Associated Press
ELWOOD, Ind. --
Twenty-two years after graduating from high school, Angie Collins is now her former English teacher's favorite student.
Collins, 40, donated her kidney this week to Darren Paquin, who teaches English at Elwood Community High School, where she graduated back in 1986.
Collins' husband, Dean, said she offered Paquin one of her kidneys after she learned that Paquin was experiencing kidney failure.
"She knew she wanted to do it and she knew she was supposed to," he said.
Collins, a mother of three, and Paquin underwent the transplant surgery Tuesday at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Collins is scheduled to head home on Sunday for Mother's Day.
Collins said she thought and prayed for about two months over whether she would offer to donate one of her kidneys to Paquin, who was her high school instructor in speech and composition.
"I wanted to make the decision to donate first, before I ever found out if I would be a match," she said. "Then, when I made the decision to donate, I knew I was a match. I knew it in my heart."
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Not a registered user? It's Free!
Register here. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.