She Donated a Kidney to Her High School Prom Date—Here's Why

More than 35 years had passed since prom night, but Elena Hershey still fondly recalled the harbor boat cruise, the beautiful gowns and dancing under the stars with her date, Shawn Moyer.

Elena was a junior, Shawn a senior—they were only friends, but Shawn’s date had canceled at the last minute.

“I was his backup,” Elena remembered as she typed in his email address to let him know that now, in his hour of need, she’d happily be his backup again.

In high school, Shawn was voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” He also received a kidney transplant after an autoimmune disorder destroyed his own kidneys.

A donor’s determination

Weeks later, an old school friend told Elena that Shawn needed another kidney. To Elena it seemed to be fate.

“I have this extra kidney—would you like it?” she wrote to Shawn in an email.

That very evening, Shawn and Elena were on the phone catching up.

“A few days of discomfort to save a life? It’s really kind of a no-brainer.”

“I really want to do this,” Elena insisted when the subject of Shawn’s health came up. “I’ve been studying it for months,” she explained, and told Shawn about her research and her original attempt to be a donor.

But almost immediately, Elena was ruled out as Shawn’s donor—their blood types were incompatible. But Elena knew what to do. “We’ll enroll in the paired donor program,” she said.

Elena’s kidney could still help Shawn, but indirectly. Her kidney would be directed to someone else in the program, and their living donor’s organ would be passed along to another patient.

Sometimes the swaps were direct—other times three or more donor and recipient pairs were in the transplant chain.

Saving a life

So last July while on summer break, Elena donated a kidney that saved a life in St. Louis.

“I only have to stay overnight,” she texted Shawn after her surgery, a lush tower of flowers from him and his wife on the table beside her.

“I rode a mile on my stationary bike today,” she texted Shawn a few weeks later, and by the first day of school, it was like the surgery had never happened.

Shawn’s own donor kidney was a near perfect match, and he also recovered quickly from his surgery.

“Thanks to you, I feel great!” he wrote back to Elena.

Today, Shawn is back at the hospital—seeing patients instead of being one.

A few weeks after Shawn’s transplant, Elena spent her spring break in Pennsylvania, visiting family and friends—including Shawn and his wife.

Shawn had to wear a mask to avoid infection, but nothing could stop him from giving Elena a long, hearty hug.

“How can I ever thank you enough,” he kept saying, but Elena insists she’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“People think it’s such a huge commitment but it’s really not,” she says. “A few weeks of rest and a few days of discomfort to save someone’s life? It’s really kind of a no-brainer.”

Ready for more?Subscribe to our YouTube channel for video podcasts, health tips and uplifting stories designed for women 40, 50, 60 and beyond.

This article originally appeared in the May 18, 2026 print issue of Woman’s World.

Copyright 2026 A360 Media

This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM.