Teacher 'got chills' learning school custodian needed a kidney donation—her one decision saved his life

The teacher couldn't shake the feeling that her help was exactly what the custodian needed during the crisis.

PUBLISHED AUG 2, 2025

(L) An old man at a hospital. (R) A woman looking at her phone while working. Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | David Sacks; Jose Luis Pelaez Inc

A person's intuition often ends up saving their own, as well as others' lives. An elementary school teacher had such a feeling when she came to know that the school custodian needed a kidney transplant. The woman, Erin Durga, described that she got "chills" when she got the news and felt that she had to be the one who would be a match for the custodian, Pat Mertens, for the donation. She decided to contact the family, and it led to a life-changing discovery for them, per CNN.

A man lying on a hospital bed. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Morsa Images

Both Durga and Mertens had started working at the elementary school in Minnesota together in 2011. Their families knew each other well by the time Mertens went through a kidney transplant in 2020. The woman's children even went to Mertens's wife Lynda's daycare and called him "papa." The school knew that the man had been suffering from a kidney disease and had to go through dialysis three times a week. They had also organized a "Hats for Pat" fundraiser to arrange for Mertens' transport costs to the dialysis centre. But then one day, his daughter named Kayla Matten, posted on Facebook that he really needed a kidney transplant and hoped that someone could come forward through social media to help him.

Woman looking at her phone with a thoughtful expression. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Guido Mieth

"We are now in the process of trying to find someone with an O blood type and someone who is willing to donate their kidney," Matten explained. "Some families have been tested and unfortunately, they are not the same blood type or have other health issues that restrict them from donating. We know what prayer can do and getting the word out there." Durga saw that post and felt that she would be a match. "I’d been wanting for a while to do something big for someone. I just didn’t know what it was going to be. When I read the post from his daughter, I just got chills. I had a feeling it was going to be my something. I knew from that moment that I was going to be a match," she told the outlet.

Young woman hugging an old man. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Bevan Goldswain

Durga called Mertens's wife and told her that she wanted to check if she could be a donor. "She (the wife) was sitting next to her daughter and she turned and said, 'It’s going to be Erin.' We both just knew," the teacher continued. Durga found out that she was a match in June 2020 and organized a celebration at Mertens's home. "Pat’s not a lot for words, not a lot for hugging. But we hugged and we were just so excited, both of us, that it was truly going to happen. He was going to get a new kidney." The surgery happened in July that year and both of them recovered well after it and in time to return to school when it opened that fall.

Doctors getting ready for an organ transplant. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Sturti

Mertens shared that he was feeling strong and well after the transplant and was grateful for what Durga and the medical staff did for him. "All we can say is that she’s an angel," he remarked. The man had been diagnosed with congestive kidney and heart failure in 2017 and the doctors had told him that his kidneys were working at 12 percent. The hospital explained that the man could have waited for a maximum of five years for a deceased donor transplant before Durga volunteered to help in 2020.