CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Two sorority sisters may not share blood but they are bonded in a way some sisters will never experience.
It all started with a now-viral phone call between Jessica Hause and Megan Schultz in June. The Facetime video has more than one million views on TikTok.
Schultz tells Hause that she is a perfect match to give Hause her kidney.
"That phone call was life-changing," said Hause. "It literally was the phone call that saved my life."
December 23rd marks ten days after Schultz donated her kidney to Hause at The Christ Hospital. Six months to the day since that phone call.
The friendship began more than a decade ago when the two were at Ohio State University.
Both pledged the same sorority and became fast friends, even living together in Columbus.
After college Hause, who is originally from Middletown, moved to Arizona and North Carolina.
But after receiving a surprising diagnosis of kidney disease in fall 2023, she moved back in with her parents and started fighting the disease while looking for a living donor.
"It [kidney disease] completely stopped my life," Hause remembered. "To be 37 years old and have to go to dialysis three times a week for 3.5 hours. It's a slow death. That's what dialysis is, that's what kidney disease is."
Hause posted on social media a simple screenshot about kidney donation and how to find out more information to see if you were a match for an unnamed person.
Schultz responded that she would look into it without knowing the kidney was for her sorority sister and former roommate. After going through several tests she learned she was a perfect match.
"It's so wild, a piece of me is working in her," said Schultz. "And it's working so well."
Both are recovering and met up during a post-op appointment on Monday at The Christ Hospital.
"It really means so much more when you need something that's as lifesaving as a kidney, that one of your sorority sisters that you pledged to be friends with your entire life steps up when no one else would," Hause said.
The pair says Friday the 13th, the day that changed both of their lives forever when they had successful surgery, is a day they will never forget and it wasn't even the original date for surgery.
"I think the coordinators are absolute superheroes," Schultz said of the care team at The Christ Hospital. "Our surgery was postponed for additional testing and our coordinators managed to get our surgery put together and get us down here."
Hause says she kept a positive attitude as much as she could while fighting kidney disease. She also says staying active helped her recovery.
"If we can do this, then anybody can do anything," said Hause. "And I think it's very important to stay positive."
Schultz says if you are interested in learning more about kidney donation do your research. She said she even met with other donors before the surgery to learn more about the process.
As for Hause, she is hoping to make a difference for more people needing organ donation. Now that she can get back to working, she wants to find a job in the field of organ donation.