Born with 1 kidney, 6-year-old gets life-changing gift from her coach

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A St. Louis-area woman donated a kidney to a 6-year-old girl she met while coaching her family, and the story is now part of a national push to increase living kidney donations.

Chloe Welker was born with only one kidney — half the size it was supposed to be — and needed a kidney donation to survive. Rachel Strickland, who crossed paths with the Welker family while serving as their coach, decided to get tested to see if she was a match.

“I met this sweet little girl, knowing we’re the same blood type, knowing this will save her life — this is the only opportunity for a full life is a functioning, adult kidney,” Strickland said.

On Feb. 25, Strickland donated her kidney to Chloe at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

“It was probably the easiest decision I ever made,” Strickland said.

Recovery and life after donation

It has been about four months since the donation. Strickland said she has already run a half-marathon in that time.

“I want to encourage other people, if you have an active lifestyle and kidney donation will retract from that, it won’t,” Strickland said.

Chloe’s mother, Jenny Welker, said the road to this point was not easy.

“It’s been a long, bumpy road, that is for sure,” Jenny Welker said.

To mark the bond between the two, Strickland gave Chloe two special dolls.

Jenny Welker described them: “She modified them to where there’s a jewel that’s inside of the Rachel doll and it would be taken out and put into the Chloe doll.”

‘Drive to 7-Thousand’ campaign

According to Kidneys for Kids, 13 people die every day in the United States waiting for a kidney transplant. The organization is now launching the “Drive to 7-Thousand,” a campaign aimed at reaching 7,000 living kidney donations in 2026 — something the organization says has never been done before.

Brian Martindale, founder of Kidneys for Kids, started the organization after becoming a living kidney donor himself.

“We actually have a better mortality rate after becoming a living donor because we take better care of ourselves,” Martindale said.

The campaign is being documented in a film and television series called “The Darker the Night.”

“It’s about children and adults going through what we call the darkness of kidney disease — we’re showing the battle of dialysis, sickness, sometimes near death, and seeing the light after receiving a transplant from a living kidney donor,” Martindale said.

The documentary is set to premiere in theaters on World Kidney Day, March 11, 2027. A 33-episode TV series will be available on Amazon Prime.

Family urges others to consider donation

Jenny Welker said the family is sharing a message for anyone considering living kidney donation.

“If you are on the fence about donating but you have that pit in your stomach to get tested, do it,” she said.

As for Chloe, now a T-ball and soccer player, her mother said the family is following her lead.

“We’ve started following Chloe’s lead as a baby. When she says stop, we stop. She has not said stop yet — there’s no telling where she’s gonna take us next,” Jenny Welker said.