Education
Texas Tech professor pushes ‘reset button on life,’ after former student’s husband donates kidney - fox34.com
A Texas Tech mechanical engineering professor is back in the classroom after receiving a kidney from the husband of one of his former students, capping a donor search that drew 200 volunteers. Jeff Hanson needed a kidney, and when word spread among family, friends, and former students, the response was overwhelming.
Jeff Hanson needed a kidney, and when word spread among family, friends, and former students, the response was overwhelming. Two hundred people signed up to potentially save his life. One of his former students, Jennifer Cox, went through the full donor process and appeared to be a match, but doctors found something that ruled her out.
Her husband stepped in instead. That detail alone says something about how far this thing reached beyond Hanson himself. Dialysis had been looming as the next step if no donor came through, which made the timeline feel urgent for everyone involved.
Hanson is now back teaching at Texas Tech, which for a professor is about as clear a signal as you get that recovery is going real well. "I can't really talk about it without getting emotional," he said, which tracks for a guy whose former students and their spouses were literally lining up to give him an organ.
Common questions
How did the Texas Tech professor find a kidney donor?
- When word spread that professor Jeff Hanson needed a kidney, 200 people volunteered to be tested. A former student, Jennifer Cox, went through the full process but was ruled out. Her husband stepped in and donated his kidney instead, getting Hanson back in the classroom.
Why was dialysis mentioned in the Texas Tech kidney donation story?
- Dialysis was the next step for professor Jeff Hanson if no living donor came through. That made the search feel urgent for everyone involved. The successful donation from his former student's husband meant Hanson avoided dialysis entirely and returned to teaching at Texas Tech.
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