DALLAS — In exchange for chopped liver, Lisa Harris gave her friend a kidney.
Sheri Ido, 58, is known for her cooking. Despite regularly receiving rave reviews for her food, she was surprised by Harris' reaction to her chopped liver.
That liver is the reason Ido is alive today.
“She absolutely saved my life,” Ido said.
Harris works at a retirement community and has known Ido for 50 years. Earlier this year, Harris asked her friend for some chopped liver.
“I did not have time to make chopped liver this year,” she said. “Thank goodness Sheri did.”
Ido learned to make chopped liver from her grandma and has made it for Passover every year since.
It’s a 20-year tradition that nearly ended after a visit with her doctor.
“He said, ‘You’re a very sick lady. You have stage four kidney disease,’” Ido said. “From out of nowhere.”
Ido needed a kidney transplant. Neither her husband nor her kids were a suitable match.
She has been looking for a donor for two years.
When Harris visited Ido to pick up the chopped liver, the friend surprised the cook.
“I gave her the chopped liver and she said, ‘I wanna give you a kidney,’” Ido said.
The surgery went well. Both women say they are indebted to each other.
“She gave my children their mom for a longer time,” Ido said. “She gave me my life back.”
And Harris expects a lifetime supply of chopped liver.
“She’ll have to give me chopped liver for the rest of my life, but that’s a great trade-off,” she said. “We’re all on this earth to be with each other, to help each other out. It’s the least I could do.”