Daughter donates kidney to save father’s life

Woman donates kidney to save dad's life Dan Datkuliak says he is his daughter’s biggest cheerleader when she runs as without her he would not be alive. (Source: WOIO) (WOIO)

By Noelle Williams and Jordan Gartner

CLEVELAND (WOIO/Gray News) - An Ohio man says he wouldn’t be here today without his daughter.

Dan Datkuliak told WOIO that he knew his kidneys were failing and that’s when his daughter, Angela Hissner, insisted on giving a kidney to him.

Datkuliak said he was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease but after a round of tests, it was quickly determined that Hissner was the perfect match.

“When they said we were a match, it was like, this is going to happen. We can do this,” Hissner said.

In 2021, they went under the knife and soon after the surgery, Hissner said she was back on her feet, doing what she loved, running.

Six months after donating her kidney, she ran in the Akron Marathon.

“I wanted to prove to myself that you can donate a kidney and still go run a marathon,” Hissner said.

According to Hissner, she also raised more than $6,000 for a foundation for kidney donor athletes in honor of her father.

“I was there yelling and waiting for her to cross that finish line and she did it,” Datkuliak said.

And two years later not much has changed for the father and daughter.

Hissner is still crossing the finish lines and her father continues to cheer her on.

Copyright 2023 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Noelle Williams

Noelle Williams

Noelle is a passionate storyteller with a mission to help better tell stories to leave people feeling more knowledgeable, safer and better represented than they were.