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From the left, Angela Maples and Amanda McCowen.
Amanda McCowen never expected to be close to Angela Maples, the woman married to her ex-husband. But when Angela needed a kidney, Amanda gave her one — turning a complicated past into an extraordinary act of generosity.
When Joshua Maples, father of Amanda’s two children, remarried, Amanda braced herself for tension. “Automatically upon meeting her, I had formed this thing in my mind — ‘I’m just not going to like her,’” Amanda said. “These are my children, and I’m not going to share them with anybody.”
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Over a decade of co-parenting, however, that friction softened. Shared responsibilities — school events, soccer games, and holiday schedules — gradually built trust. “We started off just doing what was in the best interest of our children, but it turned into a genuine, caring relationship,” Angela said.
That bond was tested — and ultimately strengthened — when Angela was diagnosed with renal failure. Facing long, grueling dialysis sessions and a life on hold, she needed a kidney. Without hesitation, Amanda stepped forward.
On Oct. 13, both women underwent transplant surgery at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Now recovering, they share their story to encourage others to consider living-kidney donations.
More than 100,000 Americans are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, and about 86 percent need a kidney, according to Donate Life America.
“Every day, thousands wait for a kidney transplant, but the number of available donors falls heartbreakingly short,” said Eric Siskind, M.D., a transplant surgeon with Texas Health Surgical Specialists. “Living donors aren’t just giving an organ — they’re giving time, hope, and a second chance at life.”
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Surgery Day
Since 1986, Texas Health Fort Worth has performed 1,361 kidney transplants, including 200 from living donors like Amanda. Kidneys from living donors typically function immediately, last longer, and shorten the wait compared with deceased-donor transplants.
Robyn Dye, the hospital’s transplant program administrator, called the donation “truly inspiring.” While the program has seen mothers give kidneys to their children’s teachers and patients donate to strangers, she said, “to our knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had someone provide a kidney to the spouse of an ex. Their relationship shows how compassion can transcend the past.”
Joshua Maples sees a higher power at work in his family’s story. “Their relationship has grown tremendously through this,” he said. “It’s taught me a lot about love and forgiveness.”
For Amanda, the decision to donate was both simple and profound. Watching Angela endure 14-hour dialysis sessions gave her a new perspective on life’s small blessings. “On a daily basis, we grumble about ‘We’ve got to go to this event after school’ or ‘I’ve got to stop at the grocery store,’” she said. “But these are things she was praying to even be able to do again. It was very, very humbling.”
Angela now sees their story as a testament to love, faith, and the human capacity for grace. She encourages anyone awaiting a kidney transplant to reach out — you never know who might step forward.
“She literally saved my life,” Angela said. “If I can give just a little bit of hope to the hopeless and a little bit of faith to the faithless and inspire some courage, then I’ve done my job.”
