Elizabeth Crais

Elizabeth (Betsy) Crais was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, which runs in her family, in her thirties. In 2004 she received her first kidney transplant, from a colleague friend; in 2021 she received a kidney-liver transplant from a deceased donor. She has provided the recipient perspective in presentations to professional groups and served on patient panels and as a peer mentor to newly diagnosed kidney patients. She continues to be an advocate for living kidney donation and along with Carol has appeared on a number of podcasts, written key magazine articles, and provided helpful information to those considering donation. She is a retired 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 currently lives with her husband in Chapel Hill, NC. Her adult son also lives in Chapel Hill. Her adult daughter lives in LA and wrote a chapter in the book from her teenager perspective).