GALION–A longtime minister in town is getting a new lease on life thanks to a successful kidney transplant that’s been in the making for nearly a year.

The Rev. Joe Stafford, 61, senior pastor of Wesley Chapel Church, underwent the surgery Jan. 6 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. His donor? Jayme Sparks, a friend and active member of another Galion congregation, Grace Point Church.

God has His ways.

“I feel like God was calling me to do this,” said Jayme, who donated her left kidney. “Joe is an amazing man who helps so many in our community.

He touches so many lives that I just wanted to help him continue to do his thing. I would do it all over again.”

Pastor Joe, a fixture at Wesley Chapel for 32 years now, had a follow-up appointment at the O.S.U. Kidney Center Tuesday. As he continues to recover, he said he’s both grateful and amazed by the outpouring of support from his family, his church, and the community.

“My gratitude first-of-all to Jayme. What a wonderful gift this is. And a big thank-you for all the prayers from the community. Hundreds have reached out in some fashion. It’s humbling and deeply appreciated. Even talking to you about it brings tears to my eyes.”

The transplant operation, originally scheduled for Nov. 18, had to be postponed because Jayme tested positive for COVID during the pre-operative testing. It was rescheduled for Jan. 20, but an opening became available on Jan. 6, and Jayme jumped on it.

It was her 52nd birthday.

“I have several friends who have donated to family and a very good friend who received a kidney from his sister. All these people have deeply touched me,” she said. “How awesome is it that I was able to give life on the date that I was given life.

Yes, it was orchestrated by God.”

Pastor Joe said his kidney function started deteriorating about two years ago, so his doctor put him on a strict renal diet at first and then had to resort to a regimen of home dialysis. He also brought up the reality of end-stage kidney disease and someday needing a new kidney.

In February 2022, Pastor Joe suffered a perforated bowel, which contaminated the dialysis port.
Peritonitis set in, and he landed in Galion Hospital for eight days. A new port for hemodialysis was inserted, and he was referred to Ohio State’s kidney transplant program.

At first, Pastor Joe said, he tried to keep his health issues private because he was still working and didn’t want it to become a distraction to church members or those he counsels.
But in March, he shared his news.

“I was trying to keep it personal within the family until then.”

As a pre-transplant patient, he said, doctors sent him a video package outlining options, including deceased or living donors. His wife, Val, didn’t qualify for the procedure, and others who offered their organs weren’t candidates either. In August, he found his match.

Jayme knows Pastor Joe through her husband, Eric, a funeral director at Snyder Funeral Homes, Richardson-Davis Chapel. As the district chief for the Ohio B.M.V., she has also had contact over the last 28 years with transplant recipients and donor families who renew their driver’s licenses.

She wanted to become a donor and discussed it at length with her husband, who overwhelmingly supported her decision. At a picnic in August attended by the Staffords and funeral home staff, she sprung the news.

“He is humble and did not ask me.

I surprised him by offering.”

Pastor Joe and Jayme, surrounded by their families, arrived in Columbus for the long-awaited transplant, which started at 12:30 p.m. “I woke up with a kidney,” Pastor Joe recalled. “They said it started functioning right away. I was discharged three days later and home Monday evening for supper.”

For now, he has bloodwork taken twice a week and weekly follow-ups at the Transplant Center.

He’s a little nauseous – a side effect of his medication – and must avoid crowds but feels great. “I’m strongly looking forward to getting back to a regular routine.”

Jayme, meanwhile, has three small incisions from the laparoscopic procedure, which took two hours.

“It was pretty moving. On Sunday before I got released, I went down the hall to see him and he came down to see me too. For it all to work out, what a God thing.”

Because prayers have been answered for this pastor. And the woman who shared the gift of life on her birthday this year.

More than 100,000 people across the country are on a waiting list for life-saving organ transplants.
Information on becoming a donor is available by logging on to donatelife.ohio.gov.