NJ teacher who received kidney donation from fellow educator kicks off school year: ‘I feel amazing’

A New Jersey teacher is back in the classroom with a new lease on life after a colleague selflessly donated his kidney to her over the summer.

Lauren Crupi, a language arts instructor and mother of two, felt rundown daily as she battled kidney failure before a fellow teacher at St. Leo the Great School in Lincroft came to her rescue, according to reports.   

Computer science teacher Mike Daneman, 33, discovered he was a kidney match with Crupi — who was facing the prospect of daily dialysis — and donated his organ.

The two underwent surgery on June 1.

“My mom passed away when I was 5 years old, and I look at her kids and I think they really need their mom and if I can help keep her around for these kids and keep her healthy, I really want to try that,” Daneman told ABC 7.

“So that was actually a huge part of my decision process.”

Crupi’s kidney began failing when she was 25. The last year has been particularly taxing on her as she taught middle schoolers and raised two young children, the Asbury Park Press reported.

While she remained on top of her game, colleagues knew about her struggles and Lauren’s husband posted on Facebook last December that she was looking for a kidney donor.

“I was anemic, lethargic, nauseous, cold all the time, easily out of breath,” she explained to the newspaper.

“My coloring was gray. I wasn’t able to do a lot. I really expended all of my energy here (at school). When I got home, I would crash.”

Daneman found out in March he was the only match among a number of people who got tested.

On the final day of school last year and the day before the transplant, a surprise pep rally was held for the pair of educators. Every student and staffer donned a green “kidney health” bracelet that left both teachers emotional.

“The support just made you feel like, ‘You’ve got this.’” Crupi told the Asbury Park Press.

It took only a month for Daneman to fully bounce back following surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, but Crupi remained isolated for three months as she was on medication to help her body accept the new organ.

That resting period ended right as the new school year started.

“I feel amazing,” she told the newspaper. “Since the day of the surgery, I’ve felt completely different. I turned to my husband and said, ‘Is this how healthy people feel every day?’”

Both teachers hope the experience has been a teaching moment that won’t be graded on an exam this year.

“I hope they take away kindness, being there for each other, never giving up, perseverance and challenges,” Crupi told ABC 7.  “I hope they take it all.”