Laurie Miller, director of student programs at EMU, underwent surgery over Christmas break to donate a kidney to someone he had never met. “I’ve been blessed all my life with really good health,” said Miller, on Dec. 29, 2011, in an interview with The Mennonite. “I just felt like some people just don’t have that.” Photo by Lindsey Kolb.

Kidney Donor Miller to Share Story on Radio

by Melodie Davis

Courtesy MennoMedia

Laurie Miller, director of student programs and recreational sports at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), went to UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville last year to donate one of his kidneys to someone he didn’t know. He tells what that was like and why he did it on the nationally produced Shaping Families radio program June 2-3, 2012.

Earlier, Miller was a guidance counselor at Broadway High School and had read an article about local artist Ken Schuler, donating a kidney. Then about ten years ago, Miller was reading an article in Sports Illustrated about basketball player Alonzo Mourning needing a kidney and the writer mentioned all the people that had come forward to offer to donate a kidney to the NBA star. The writer made the point, “If you would donate a kidney to Alonzo Mourning, why wouldn’t you just donate it to anybody?”

Miller gave it a lot of thought over the years and last December donated a kidney.

Locally the 15-minute weekly program airs on WSVA (550) and WBTX (1470) Sunday mornings at 7:15 and 9:15 a.m. respectively. A podcast will be available online at www.ShapingFamilies.com on June 1.

Shaping Families is produced by MennoMedia, an agency based in Harrisonburg.