Second Transplant Brings Hope and Energy Back to Young Mom

Just six months after giving birth, 20-year-old Alexis Kolsters was pale, exhausted and in need of urgent medical attention.

The Concord native soon learned she was in acute kidney failure caused by atypical HUS, a rare complication of pregnancy-related preeclampsia.

“My mom kept saying, ‘You need to go back in,’” Kolsters recalled. “The hospital ran tests, and everything changed in three days.”

Dialysis became Kolster’s ‘new normal’ for five long years. Still, she kept going, raising her daughter, working full-time and pushing through the constant fatigue.

“You become a robot. You do what you have to do,” Kolsters said.

A Transplant, Setback and a Father’s Hope

Relief came in 2020 when Kolsters received her first kidney transplant at Sutter’s CPMC in San Francisco.

Alexis after her first kidney transplant in 2020

“I felt amazing! I was even able to start strength training,” she said.

But after three years, Kolsters body began rejecting the kidney. Doctors at CPMC acted quickly with high-dose steroids and other therapies, but the kidney eventually failed.

Once again, Kolsters found herself back on dialysis – four days a week, beginning each treatment before dawn and powering through full workdays afterward.

“This past year was the hardest. At one point, I told my husband, ‘I don’t think I can do this anymore,’” she shared.

Seeing his daughter endure so much, Kolsters’ father, Marc Kolsters, stepped forward to begin the process of becoming a living kidney donor. Then, in January, Kolsters received the life-changing news that a deceased donor kidney was available.

“I told my family, ‘This is it!’” said Kolsters.

Her second kidney transplant at CPMC was a success.

“Within days, I was up and moving. The team was so impressed, and my surgeon Dr. Miller said [the kidney] fit like a glove,” she added.

Aden’s Gift of Life and a Family Transformed

Kolsters’ kidney came from a young man named Aden Gray, whose life ended too soon. As part of the organ donation process, recipients can choose to reach out to their donor’s family – and Kolsters did. That’s how she connected with Aden’s father, Charles, and the two have since formed a meaningful bond.

“He told me, ‘Aden was an authentic creature. He followed his heart and blazed a bold path. One of my greatest comforts in the initial hours of realizing that my son was leaving this earth was that he would live on in another. I hope his spirit empowers you to be the best Alexis you can be. I want this to be the last kidney you ever need.’”

Now 31 and just months post-transplant, Kolsters is back at the gym and cheering on the sidelines at her daughter’s soccer games.

“I used to nap in the car because I didn’t have the energy to stand,” she says. “Now I’m present. I’m not that emotionless robot anymore.”

“My daughter got her mom back,” says Jesus Flores, Kolsters’ fiancé. “It’s incredible.”

Kolsters praised the CPMC transplant team for their compassion and dedication along her journey.

“Dr. Katznelson always made me laugh, even when my spirit was low. I would sometimes feel like a burden, but everyone, all my nurses especially, were so patient with me.”

“Alexis showed remarkable perseverance,” says Dr. Steven Katznelson, a nephrologist with Sutter West Bay Medical Group. “Her story is a powerful reminder of how transplant medicine and organ donors can transform lives. I’m thankful Alexis came to Sutter, where we not only provided exceptional care during both of her transplants but also ensured she received the ongoing support needed for a successful recovery. We share in her joy as she moves forward in life.”

This National Donate Life Month, Alexis proudly shares her story to raise awareness and inspire others to register as organ donors.

“You have no idea how much you can change someone’s life,” she says. “I’m living proof. Because of a stranger’s gift, I get to be a mom, a wife, a daughter – and myself again.”

Learn more about becoming a living kidney donor.