Flight attendant in desperate need of a kidney donor finds her savior in the cockpit

Even as Jenny Stansel struggled with chronic kidney disease, she continued to work as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, thinking she could power through the illness and be OK.

Then, in March 2016, she became so ill in the middle of a flight she needed to take a passenger’s seat, she told KOMO. When the plane touched down, Stansel was rushed to the hospital.

She went on dialysis soon after, but she was still living on “borrowed time,” according to a press release from Alaska Airlines. At the time of the mid-air emergency, Stansel would have died within three days had she not received medical care, doctors said, per the Alaska Dispatch News.

Her only hope for a complete return to health was an organ donor. So she sent a company-wide email asking for help, per KOMO. And while Alaska Airlines says many people volunteered, the only person who matched with Stansel was a woman with whom she’s had a rich history.

Four years ago, Captain Jodi Harskamp’s house in Anchorage, Alaska, burned down, displacing her and her two children. Alaska Airlines sent an email to employees asking for help, and Stansel showed up at the door of Harskamp’s temporary home with wine and lasagna despite having never met her before, per the Dispatch News.

Since then, the two have worked together and become close, per Alaska Airlines. When Stansel let people know she needed a kidney, Harskamp said she remembered her house fire and felt compelled to help.

“When you survive something as horrific as that … you have to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What am I doing? Why am I ignoring all of the suffering in the world?’” Harskamp told the Dispatch News.

Now, Harskamp is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday. If all goes well, Stansel will follow her to the operating table soon after.

“A lot of people say, a kidney for a lasagna? That's a huge trade,” Harskamp told KOMO.

“It was an amazing lasagna.”

However, despite her jokes, Harskamp is actually sacrificing several weeks of recovery time, the possibility of health complications of her own and even her job to help Stansel. The Federal Aviation Administration requires that commercial airline pilots pass a medical exam in order to fly, and the American Transplant Foundation warns potential donors that long-term risks from donating include high blood pressure.

Despite that, Harskamp is determined to help her friend, and hopes that her example will inspire others. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 98,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

“There's no greater gift than to see somebody walking around with your organ,” Harskamp told the Dispatch News.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Flight attendant in desperate need of a kidney donor finds her savior in the cockpit."