Sister Act of Love: A Kidney Donation Story

Angelica Ponce was on cloud nine. She was in her mid-20s and starting her dream job as a kindergarten teacher. Recently, she also had become engaged to her high school sweetheart and was excited to start wedding planning.

Within weeks, though, Angelica's world came crashing down.

"I started getting swelling in my ankles, losing a bunch of weight and just generally not feeling very good," Ponce said. "I went in for a blood test and knew quickly something was wrong."

It was a major flare-up of ANCA vasculitis, the autoimmune disease she had been diagnosed with in her teens but had been in remission for several years. Doctors now told her she had more than 60% damage to her kidneys and there was nothing they could do to reverse it. She would need to begin dialysis and, eventually, would require a kidney transplant.

"It is very unusual for people in their 20s to go into renal failure. Typically, kidney failure is related to diabetes and high blood pressure in patients in their 50s and older," said Tsuyoshi Todo, MD, a kidney transplant surgeon at Cedars-Sinai. "In Angelica's case, she was a college athlete and as healthy as they could come. It was very unfortunate she had her kidneys shut down due to her autoimmune disorder."

Ponce didn't want to be on dialysis for her wedding, so she put planning on hold and began searching for a kidney donor.

She didn't have to look very far. Angelica's younger sister, Miranda Ponce, immediately volunteered to get tested to see if one of her kidneys might be a good match.

When the test results came back, the sisters were a perfect six out of six match.

"That six out of six number indicates the number of matches that Miranda's body shares in common with Angelica's body," said Justin Steggerda, MD, kidney transplant surgeon at Cedars-Sinai who served as the surgeon for Miranda Ponce. "This means Angelica's body is less likely to react adversely to the transplant and less likely to form some sort of immune response that may later on lead to problems."

Miranda Ponce said she didn't hesitate when she found out she was the perfect living donor for her sister.

"I was happy that I had such a good match so that she could have the longest, healthiest years with the best kidney for her," Miranda Ponce said. "And I knew it would be comforting for us, to go through this whole process together."

The Ponce sisters went through their kidney transplant surgery at Cedars-Sinai in November 2025. They spent the next few weeks recovering together at their parents' home in Bellflower, California.

"Anytime a living donor transplant is between siblings or family members, it's always a really special occasion," Steggerda said. "In this case, it facilitated Angelica being off dialysis, and I think that's a really special story."

Todo said that Angelica's determination and positive outlook fueled her recovery.

"[Angelica] was determined to not walk down the aisle while she had a dialysis catheter hanging out of her chest," Todo said. "And the fact that her sister stepped up to help her with a kidney donation for the biggest day of her life is very touching."

April marks the recognition of Donate Life Month, which promotes awareness about organ donation and honors those who gave the gift of life. To acknowledge this occasion, the Ponce sisters will participate in the annual Donate Life flag raising ceremony at Cedars-Sinai on Wednesday, April 1.

"This month means so much to me, personally. This has become our story now, and being a transplant patient, I feel like I have a voice to raise awareness," Angelica Ponce said. "By donating a kidney, you give someone their life back, and I feel like my sister gave me my life back because of this."

With Angelica's health challenges in the rearview mirror, the Ponce sisters are looking forward to brighter days to come, including Angelica's wedding in 2027. Miranda will be her sister's maid of honor.

"This will be my first time being in a wedding so I'm extremely excited," Miranda Ponce said. "My biggest goal after the transplant was for her to get that wedding and to hopefully one day be a mother and give me nieces and nephews. That's my biggest dream, honestly, just to be an aunt. So yeah, I'm really excited."

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