Kidney Donor Fired From Her Job Just Weeks Before Surgery

PHOENIX -- A Phoenix woman, scheduled to donate a kidney next month, is now out of a job.Amy Donohue said she failed to meet sales goals, and was fired from her job at Gannett Local on Tuesday, just weeks before she was scheduled to donate a kidney.

• Video: Kidney Donor Out Of A Job

“I just thought, ‘I can't believe this,’" said Donohue.Donohue decided in January to donate one of her kidneys to Anu Dwivedi.Dwivedi struggles with chronic kidney disease. She was recently placed on a transplant list -- and was told the wait could be six years. Her daughter, Kirti, decided she couldn’t sit and wait, so she started a Facebook page to raise awareness and try to find a donor.Donohue had met Kirti in person once, and the two kept in touch via Facebook and Twitter. It was through social media that Donohue learned about Dwivedi’s need for a kidney donor.Donohue said it was an easy decision to become a live donor.“She said, ‘I have two kidneys and you have one mom. Let’s do this,'” said Kirti Dwivedi, recalling the initial phone conversation that began the donation process. “It’s amazing. How do you say, 'Thank you?'”Kirti said she was shocked when she learned Donohue lost her job."Amy is donating a kidney to my mom and she lost her job because of spending time testing for it. It's really hard to understand how that could happen, and it's hard not to feel guilty or upset," said Kirti Dwivedi.Amy estimated she used about seven sick and personal days in the past couple of months to go through testing. She had held her job for approximately seven months."I take full responsibility. How can I not say I've been distracted? I've got a big thing going on in my life," said Donohue.She said while she does not want her job back, she wishes her company had handled her situation differently, considering the circumstances."Sometimes, accommodations need to be made for people when something huge is going on," said Donohue.Kirti said her mother's insurance is covering the costs for Amy's testing and surgery, so she does not believe that played a role in Amy's firing.CBS 5 News called and emailed Gannett Local on Wednesday afternoon, receiving only an automated response saying the request was being "routed to the appropriate department."Both women said job offers for Amy have started to come in. Donohue said she’s not sure what she’ll do next.The kidney donation is scheduled for mid-April. Amy says she has no regrets.

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