Results: Finding Your Lifesaver On TikTok

Katie Hallum, a University of Oklahoma student who was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, turned to an unlikely place to help address her serious medical situation: TikTok. In July 2022, Hallum took to TikTok, posting a funny video of herself dramatically entering a room, with text overlaid on the screen that reads, "POV: I overhear you say you have an O blood type and healthy kidneys." "You have something I want," she says, lip-syncing a background track with audio from a scene in "The Mandalorian." In the caption, she wrote, "Haha jk, unless…?" Do you find it interesting that someone would turn to social media to find an organ doner?

The comedic post used humor to convey a very serious inquiry: Hallum had been diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy, an incurable disorder, and was in need of a kidney transplant. Kidney transplantation is a major surgical procedure with a success rate of about 95% (95% of transplanted kidneys will be functioning one year after the surgery). During this surgical procedure, a surgeon places a donor kidney into the abdomen of the patient in kidney failure. Have you ever needed a kidney transplant or been a kidney transplant doner?

Among the thousands who saw the video was Savannah Stallbaumer, who commented, "How do I get tested?" Months after testing, Stallbaumer learned she was a perfect match for Hallum's transplant. The transplant went ahead on August 17 of this year. Hallum said her doctors couldn't be happier with her recovery progress. Do you find it incredible that this story turned out this way?

The feel-good story didn't end there: Hallum and Stallbaumer are now friends, and Hallum said her family even invited Stallbaumer over for Christmas. Do you think that this is the beginning of a life-long friendship?