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Harris, 51, and Levin, 47, both were members of the Mayor’s Anti-Racism Task Force. They got to know each other and became friends.
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They knew they could count on each other. So when Harris needed a kidney transplant, Levin stepped forward after his family members were found not to be compatible donors.
On Wednesday, Harris is scheduled for a kidney transplant at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Levin, who now lives in Austin, Texas, will donate one of her kidneys to him.
In April, Levin was a speaker at Viterbo University when she and Harris talked.
“Thomas said he still needed a kidney, so I said, ‘Let’s get tested,’” Levin said. “I felt it was something I should do.”
She said close family members donate kidneys to loved ones, and Harris is a member of her global family.
“We have been specially bonded with our causes,” Levin said. “He’s a great man and is making a big difference in the world, and we want him active and around for a long time.”
Harris is assistant director of multicultural student services at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He also is president of the new 7 Rivers Diversity Collaboration and organized the regional Martin Luther King Day celebration. Levin is former La Crosse YWCA social justice director and now is a full-time speaker, trainer and activist in social justice issues.
Levin said she was not surprised when she found out that she was a compatible donor.
“You don’t have to be a perfect match, but I was really healthy and I had nice kidneys,” Levin said.
Harris was diagnosed with kidney disease in the mid-1990s and was placed on a kidney transplant list in 2003. His son and sister were not good donor matches.
“All this wouldn’t be happening without Marilyn,” Harris said. “She pretty much was the only person who stepped up to the plate — and just in the nick of time.
“The bottom line is she prolonged and saved my life,” he said.
Harris was just about to start kidney dialysis before Levin became his donor.
“From the beginning, I knew God had someone already chosen for this generous gift of life,” he said.
Levin also considers the opportunity to donate one of her organs to a friend as a gift to her.
“When you live in generosity, you live in gratitude,” Levin said. “This experience has been a huge gift for me. I’m so privileged to be healthy.”
How to help
Thomas Harris and Marilyn Levin have been raising funds for the kidney transplant for expenses not covered by insurance. Go to www.kidney4thomas.com to make a donation or for more information about the kidney transplant.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
