Janice WightmanJanice Wightman supports the PKD Foundation through payroll deduction

Janice Wightman doesn’t just donate to fight PKD through her employer. It’s also where she found her kidney donor, Diane.

Stuck at an airport with a friend and colleague from work, she began to open up about having PKD and at some point in the future needing a transplant or to go on dialysis.

Years later Janice updated Diane that she was starting the transplant screening process and was shocked at her co-worker’s response.

“She offered to be tested to find out if she was a compatible donor,” Janice says. “I really agonized over it because donating a kidney isn’t something you should enter into lightly.”

Turns out, Diane was a very good match. A 51-year-old cancer survivor of 19 years, she was cleared medically and the transplant took place May 23, 2012.

“I would learn later that Diane decided right there in the airport to be a donor,” Janice explains. “Diane told me she prayed and asked God to show her how she could give more and be of service. She believed being my donor was her answer.”

Janice was diagnosed with PKD at age 44. Her grandmother lost her life to PKD when Janice was a one-year old. Her father died before being diagnosed, but clearly had the gene to pass on. She’s the oldest of four siblings, and she has another brother who also has PKD. Janice has two children, and her daughter has PKD as well.

“The first thing I did when I found out I had PKD was start educating myself,” Janice explains. “I wanted to do everything I could to manage this disease.”

Janice is a big believer that research is the answer to ending PKD and that’s why she gives through her employer’s workplace giving program.

“I’ve given continuously to the PKD Foundation since I was diagnosed,” she says. “At my work, we get an annual invitation to have our donations matched to an approved organization.

“It’s so easy and convenient, and I receive an annual statement from the Foundation of how much has been contributed.”

Janice says she values her connection to the PKD Foundation because she likes staying on top of the latest in research and appreciates the opportunity to meet others living with PKD.

Check with your human resources department to see if they offer a workplace giving program like Janice’s. Workplace giving through payroll deduction is an easy and efficient way to make tax-deductible donations to the PKD Foundation. Your personal contribution funds research grants, provides new education materials and elevates patients’ voices through advocacy and awareness.

Learn more about workplace giving