One in a million with Jamie Aspel
What are the odds an adopted kid is a perfect kidney match for their dad?
Jamie Aspel’s story is a one-in-millions collision of fate, queer resilience, religious trauma, medical miracles, and the kind of dark humor you develop when life keeps handing you plot twists.
Summary
Jamie Aspel joins Siobhan for a raw, hilarious, and deeply human conversation about surviving the odds, and then figuring out how to live after survival. Adopted at birth from his teen mother, Jamie grew up in evangelical Appalachia home, as a gay kid in a world that keeps telling him he’s wrong simply for existing. Spoiler: he wasn’t.
Years later, in a twist no one sees coming, Jamie turns out to be a near-perfect kidney match for his adopted father, whose family has been devastated by polycystic kidney disease. What starts as “I’ll just get tested” becomes major surgery, months of recovery, and a decade of life gifted back to his dad. And as Jamie shares, that decision wasn’t just about saving his father, it was also about saving his mom, their family, and maybe a piece of himself.
Alongside the medical miracle, Jamie opens up about estrangement from his biological mother, navigating addiction and unsafe relationships, and learning when love requires distance. We talk about leaving religion, coming out later in life, and the complicated grief of loving parents whose faith couldn’t fully hold their queer child, until, slowly, it did.
Through dark humor, hard truths, and a lot of cackling, this episode isn’t just about resilience. It’s about what comes next: learning to soften, to grow, and to choose joy while the world is still very much on fire.
Jamie Aspel
Jamie Aspel is a lighting designer and sales professional based in Alameda, California. A living kidney donor, adoptee, and proud gay man, Jamie brings sharp humor and emotional honesty to conversations about family, faith, trauma, and growth. He’s deeply community-minded and passionate about living a life that reflects truth, love, and intention.
Resources & Mentions
Ohio State University Medical Center – Where Jamie and his dad had their transplant surgeries.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) – Genetic kidney disease discussed throughout Jamie’s family story.
de Young Museum & Legion of Honor (San Francisco) – Art museums Jamie visits.
Grey’s Anatomy – Referenced in the context of multi‑person kidney swap episodes.
💡 Key Takeaways
"I’m grateful, I’m pissed, and I’m still healing. All of that is true.”
~ Jamie
Adoption and fate are messy and powerful. Jamie’s adoption likely saved his life, and enabled him to save his dad’s.
Living donation is major, not “no big deal.” One kidney can give someone a decade, but it permanently changes your body.
Religious trauma runs deep. Being raised evangelical while gay leaves scars that take a lifetime to untangle.
You can love people from a distance. It’s valid to go no‑contact or set hard boundaries with biological or adoptive family.
Resilience isn’t the finish line. The goal is growth: learning to move from just surviving to living with intention and joy.