Bethany is a nurse in the Medical ICU at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She has been there for now 5 years and has actually spent the last 5 months working on the frontline in the COVID ICU.

Born and raised in Naperville, IL, Bethany grew up with her parents, an older brother and a younger sister. She attended Bradley University for nursing school and has resided in Streeterville for the last 5 years. When she’s not saving lives, she enjoys doing aerial yoga and adventuring around Chicago.

When Bethany was a senior in high school, her Dad received a kidney transplant from her brother, Josh. It was a miracle how well it worked and she knew that one day she wanted to be that same miracle for someone else. A couple years after the transplant, her Dad’s kidney began to fail and they found out he would need a second transplant. Bethany was tested and approved to be his donor, but unfortunately he was very sick and passed away in 2018, before he could receive that transplant. After he passed, she still thought someone should have her kidney. Just because her dad couldn’t receive it, doesn’t mean someone else shouldn’t. In 2019, Bethany and her sister, Hannah decided to each donate a kidney altruistically. Their donations set off a chain reaction allowing six people in total to receive kidneys. She doesn’t regret her decision and believes it’s by far the best thing she’s ever done. Bethany hopes her story inspires more young adults to donate a kidney and wants to show the world how normal her life is with only one kidney.

Bethany has been working with Transplant Village’s Kidney Champion Program since it was launched in 2019, and is an incredible asset to the program, as she brings her medical expertise and personal experience as a donor, and transplant caretaker to the table.