A retired nurse who survived a house fire that killed her husband and pet dog is now searching for a living kidney donor after suffering kidney failure linked to severe smoke inhalation.
Susan Wood, 73, was trapped inside her home in Dallas, Georgia, when a fire broke out in the fireplace on 11 November 2025. The blaze continued for five hours, filling the property with smoke and preventing her from reaching her husband.
Wood was eventually rescued but spent three months in a hospital burn unit, where she was placed on a ventilator and underwent skin grafts to her hands. She also suffered serious burns to her back, feet and head.
Retired nurse now undergoing dialysis
Doctors later determined that the smoke inhalation had caused extensive damage to her kidneys. She now requires regular dialysis while waiting for a suitable transplant donor.
Wood recalled trying to escape the house to summon help from neighbours as the smoke became too thick to breathe.
“The smoke got so thick that I couldn’t breathe, and I thought, well, if I could go outside and call for, neighbors to come and help me, that they could help me get my husband out,” she said.
Her husband and the family dog died in the fire. Wood said she struggled with grief and pain during her recovery and initially questioned why she had survived.
“I said, let me die. Just let me die. I don’t I don’t want to live. I want to be with my husband,” she recalled.
Medical providers have not said how long she could remain on the transplant waiting list, and it is not known whether any relatives have been tested as possible direct matches.
Search for a living kidney donor
Wood’s appeal comes as transplant centres in Georgia continue to offer living-donor programmes. Emory Healthcare says living donation can allow patients to receive a kidney faster, while the recipient’s insurance generally covers most medical costs connected with the donor’s surgery.
Piedmont Healthcare says nearly half of the kidneys transplanted through its programme come from living donors. Its transplant institute also supports paired donation, allowing an incompatible donor-recipient pair to be matched with another pair.
So far, Wood has not found a matching donor. Despite the demands of dialysis, she remains determined to rebuild her life and spend time with her family.
“Because I want to live my life. I want to go on and I want to I want to live my life. I want to be able to play with my grandsons. I have a lot of life left in me,” she said.
Wood, who has retired from nursing, said she had even considered returning to work. “Because I’m not done yet,” she added.
