Carol Offen is a writer and editor whose varied career has included turns as a freelance writer for major publications, including Esquire, Vogue, and the International Herald Tribune; an author (Country Music: The Poetry); a book editor; and an editor of health-related materials for a nonprofit research institute. In 2006 she donated her kidney to her adult son and has been passionate about encouraging living donation ever since. She has written numerous articles and blog posts (kidneydonorhelp.com) on the subject. As a National Kidney Foundation advocate and UNOS Ambassador, she's lobbied members of Congress and state legislators to advance support and protections for living donors and kidney patients. She lives in Carrboro, North Carolina, with her husband.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Crais is a university professor/researcher in speech and hearing sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has spent most of her career. Her specialty area is young children with autism spectrum disorder, and she has been widely published both in academic publications and in books for a lay audience. She was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, which runs in her family, in her thirties. In 2004 she received a kidney transplant from a colleague friend. In 2021 she received a kidney-liver transplant from a deceased donor. She has served on patient panels and as a peer mentor. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband.