Love match: wife donates kidney to husband

'She gave me another life we can share together for many more years'

Story and photo by Gayleen Froese

LLOYDMINSTER — A doctor, or a romantic, might call Cairie-Ann and Steven Hofer a perfect match. Cairie-Ann calls their story "a miracle."

Steven and his wife Cairie-Ann — his soulmate, Steven says — were living a busy life in Lloydminster, where they run their own company. It came as a shock when Steven was diagnosed with a kidney disorder called IgA nephropathy after visiting a doctor with pain in his legs. This disorder, also known as Berger disease, is lifelong with a variable path that can lead to kidney failure.

In Steven’s case, the disease progressed enough that he was placed on the province’s kidney transplant wait list in 2023. When he learned he was on the list, "It was music to our ears. My wife was with me when we got the call and we had tears of joy and we even "high-fived" each other. It was the best news ever!"

Their joy was tempered, though, by knowing there would be a wait for a deceased donor.

"In Alberta, the wait time to receive a kidney from a donor who has passed away can be as long as five years," says Dr. Sita Gourishankar, director of Alberta Health Services' Living Donor Kidney Transplant Program. "However, the wait for a living donor can be much shorter, and often means a better match for the recipient, leading to better outcomes."

In living kidney donation, a carefully matched and healthy donor has one kidney surgically removed for transplantation into the recipient.

Steven and Cairie-Ann knew this was a possibility — but the decision to risk the surgery and life with a single kidney isn’t easy. Her decision to be tested as a donor came when Steven was about to start regular dialysis in Lloydminster. Renal dialysis would filter waste products from his blood, taking on the job that his kidneys were unable to do. Regular dialysis is typically performed several times a week and takes several hours per treatment.

Though it was unlikely that she would be a suitable donor, as matches are usually found among blood relatives, Cairie-Ann never doubted that it would work out. Her hunch proved right when she turned out to be a match. This led to a transplant that allowed Steven to come off dialysis after six months.

"This was definitely meant to be," she says.

Their surgeries were performed a day apart in July 2025, and the couple recovered quickly. Gourishankar says this story shows how meaningful donation can be.

"For any kind of organ donation, whether your gift goes to a loved one or a stranger, there’s nothing you can give that’s so important and makes such a positive difference."

While Steven is still regaining kidney function, he's thrilled to be able to return to a full and active life, as the couple celebrates their first Valentine's Day with the gift of Cairie-Ann's kidney.

"Miracles do happen," Steven says. "The pre op nurse told us, in 47 years working at the hospital, she has never seen a husband and wife match.

"I will never forget, when my wife came to my room right after surgery to see me, she held my hand as tears poured down her face to say, 'we did it!'

"She gave me another life — and we now can share it together for many more years."

To learn more about organ and tissue donation, visit GiveLifeAlberta.ca.