‘My angel from heaven.’ Pastor gets kidney from his CVS pharmacist in North Carolina

A pharmacist in North Carolina helped a patient get a second chance at life — by giving him one of her kidneys.

Donnie Pickeral, a pastor at Aycock Fellowship Ministries in Greensboro, was just 19 when he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease 31 years ago, WXII 12 reported.

The disease, IgA nephropathy, occurs when the antibody immunoglobulin A builds up in the kidneys, causing inflammation that damages the tissues. The disease can eventually lead to kidney failure, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Pickeral told WFMY that he learned he needed a transplant in 2019, and that one of his kidneys had “gotten down to 7%” before his surgery.

It can sometimes be difficult for people to find donors whose kidneys are compatible with their bodies, but Pickeral found a match in his pharmacist, Dr. Kathleen Kirkland.

The two are sharing their story as the two-year anniversary of Pickeral’s transplant nears.

Pickeral and Kirkland met in 2017 when Pickeral went to the CVS location where the pharmacist works to pick up his allergy medicine, Fox 8 reported. The two struck up a friendship. Pickeral said Kirkland “showed compassion” for him, and Kirkland said Pickeral is “always so positive,” the outlet reported.

During a visit in 2019, Pickeral mentioned that he was on the kidney transplant list. That’s when Kirkland said she wanted to give him hers, WXII reported.

“We talked a bit more and found out we’re the same blood type,” Pickeral told the outlet. “We did a fist bump and she started doing her tests and she was a perfect match for me. I felt in my heart when I walked out of that store that the Lord was saying to me she was the one.”

Kirkland said the choice to give Pickeral her kidney wasn’t a difficult one at all.

“I became a pharmacist because I wanted to help people,” she told Fox 8. “He’s one of my patients. I knew that if I was the right match for him — that was just meant to be.”

Pickeral received his new kidney in May 2020.

Both are still doing well, and Pickeral is still a regular customer at the pharmacy, where he gives Kirkland updates on “our kidney,” WFMY reported.

““I told her, ‘you’re my angel from heaven,’” Pickeral told Fox 8. “You’ve given me the gift of life.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 2:53 PM with the headline "‘My angel from heaven.’ Pastor gets kidney from his CVS pharmacist in North Carolina."