Written by: Patricia Metrick My name is Patricia Metrick and I first heard of kidney disease when I moved to Arizona in the late 1980s. I read an article from Irma Bombeck who had the disease and was writing about kidney donations. I was intrigued and considered the possibility of pursuing donating, but time flew […]
Power Player – Damian
Damian had never thought about living organ donation before. That was until one of his best friends needed a liver transplant. A few friends from high school volunteered to be her donor but ultimately fell through. A family member of his friend asked Damian to post on social media about her need for a liver […]
Power Player – Ken
Ken was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease at the age of 24. This diagnosis would eventually lead him to a kidney transplant. Ken remembers his diagnosis clear as day. It started as a typical day, but after dinner, Ken felt pains in his stomach area and dead pains in his back. These pains had been […]
Power Player – Liz
Liz was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just four months old. By her sophomore year of college, her health began to decline, and she had to move back home with her parents. She knew that a lung transplant was in her future. By February 2018, her illness became much more severe. Her doctors decided that […]
Power Player – Louise
Dialysis has always been terrifying for Louise. When she was just ten years old, she experienced a dialysis center for the first time with her mother, who was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). Just eight years later, Louise was diagnosed with PKD. Although the news was devastating, it was not a surprise. PKD is […]
Power Player – Lara
Written by Lara G Have faith in God. All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. Mark 11:22-24. I’ve lived by this since March 2017 and have often referred to it as my lifeline because […]
Power Player – Randene
Written by Randene R. Meet Gary, 72 years young with a now fully functioning kidney he received from his daughter, Randene, at the age of 33. At the early age of 18 during a routine physical, Gary’s family doctor discovered excessive albumin in his urine. Concerned with kidney failure, over the next 7 or 8 […]
Power Player – Caleigh
Caleigh was diagnosed at birth with Cystic Fibrosis. Despite her diagnosis, Caleigh lived a normal childhood and participated in sports and social activities. At the age of 19, Caleigh moved to San Francisco to attend culinary school. Unfortunately, during this time, she found herself in end-stage lung disease. At just 23 years old, she was […]
Power Player – Suzy
Suzy’s journey to transplant began nearly 30 years ago when she was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. She got tested after her father, who passed away waiting for a kidney transplant, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. She was fine for a while, but by 2008, she was told that she needed to go on […]
Power Player – Tiffany
Tiffany is the caregiver to her 15-year-old son, Devin, who received a heart transplant in December 2017. Their journey began when Devin was an infant – he went through five open-heart surgeries by the time he was eight years old. Devin was born with hypoplastic right heart syndrome. He also developed a condition called plastic […]
Transplant Community Summit – Call for Topics
Power Player – Rhonda
Two years ago, Rhonda’s father went into kidney failure because of his diabetes. At the time, he was 74 years old and just starting home dialysis. After a year of dialysis, Rhonda told her father that he should attempt to get a kidney transplant. She offered to be his living donor, but he declined her […]
Power Player – Vernell
In 2015, Vernell received news that he needed a heart transplant. His doctor told him to pack his bags – he required hospitalization while he waited for a new heart. He suffered from congestive heart failure and spent six months in the hospital waiting for an organ donor. The wait was difficult for Vernell and […]
Power Player – Matt
Matt has been dealing with kidney disease for his entire life, all 42 years of it. It has not knocked him down but made him stronger. Matt was born with Eagle-Barrett’s Syndrome. When he was born, he had about 10% function of his kidneys. The first ten years of his life, he considered it “normal.” […]
Power Player – Vicky
Vicky’s journey began 40 years ago when she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at 26 years old. At 26, she was told her kidneys were functioning at 75%. In her 40s, she started seeing a nephrologist, who monitored her kidney disease. She was told she would need a kidney transplant. Although transplantation was not […]
Power Player – Alin
On December 21, 2018, 30-year-old Alin’s life changed forever. After having episodes of dyspnea for several days, she decided to go to the emergency room. She became critically ill during her first night in the hospital, and by the third day, she was told that she would likely need advanced heart failure therapy since her […]
Nadler, Herrera Beutler, Gillibrand, Cotton Introduce Bipartisan Living Donor Protection Act to Protect Organ Donors
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), joined by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), introduced the Living Donor Protection Act of 2019 to protect the rights of living organ donors. Organ donation saves thousands of lives every year, but roadblocks remain that too often stop […]
Power Player – Kevin
After some health issues, Kevin found out he needed a heart transplant. In July 2017, he was added to the transplant waiting list. Kevin said waiting was the hardest part of his journey. “I prayed every day while I was on the waiting list,” Kevin said. “My condition got worse during the wait, so I […]
Power Player – Tara
On December 12, 2017, Tara found out that her dad, Todd, was in end-stage renal failure and would need a kidney transplant. Tara immediately knew that she wanted to become his living donor. Todd hesitated to allow Tara to donate her kidney. However, she finally convinced him that it was safe for her to donate […]
Power Player – Reid
Written by Reid Barker Power2Save previously published a story written by Reid’s wife, Lisa. In February of 2014, in the hallway of the Baylor Dallas hospital ICU, I was told my wife would need a full liver transplant from a deceased donor to have any chance at survival. Her body was in liver failure which […]
Power Player – Hailey
Hailey was born with a heart defect and required surgery as a baby. She didn’t remember the surgery and never expected to hear the words “you need a heart transplant” when she was just 16 years old. “I never knew I would need a transplant, so it was a big shock when I found out,” […]
Power Player – Summer
Seven days after giving birth to her son, Kaleb, Summer passed out and was admitted to the emergency room. She was diagnosed with post-partum cardiomyopathy and was told she would eventually need a heart transplant. She was just 19 years old. The news was very terrifying, especially for a brand-new mom. A year and a […]
Power Player – Ixel
Ixel was just eight years old when she found out she needed a heart transplant. Her story began when her mom brought her to Urgent Care, for what she thought was a cold. She was sent to the hospital by ambulance. At the hospital, it was clear there was something wrong with her heart, so […]
Power Player – Sarah J.
For Sarah and Jim Jones, a journey that would lead to a liver transplant and the start of a non-profit to help others began in 2002 when Jim was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Soon after Jim was diagnosed with kidney cancer, he had his kidney removed. However, just a few weeks after the surgery, he […]
2018 Congressional Mid-Term Election Results & Review
The first mid-term elections for President Trump have come and gone, and the outcomes went largely as most observers thought they might: Republicans maintain control of the Senate and House Democrats now control the majority. Senate Democrats faced an uphill battle having to defend ten seats in states that President Trump won and 26 total […]
OPTN/UNOS Patient Affairs Committee Looking to Fill Openings
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)/United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) Patient Affairs Committee is looking to fill some openings for its next appointment cycle, starting in July 2019. The Patient Affairs Committee meets monthly via web conference and twice a year in-person. The Committee advises the OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors and other committees about patient […]
Power Player – Julie H.
Julie was a 26-year-old mother enjoying life with her family when she discovered she needed a lung transplant. Julie was a healthy and active mom when she began to experience occasional shortness of breath. Other than that, life seemed pretty normal until the day she collapsed. That day, she had friends over. She went upstairs […]
2018 Research Grants
AST Faculty and Fellowship Grants $570,000 in grants were awarded in 2018. Ibrahim Batal, MD Columbia University Research Title: The Clinicopathologic Significance of Graft Dendritic Cells and Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in Kidney Allograft Inflammation and Outcome Matthew Kadatz, MD, FRCPC University of British Columbia Research Title: Removing cost as a barrier to performance of high-risk kidney transplants: […]
Power Player – Julie
Julie knows the importance of making “One Transplant for Life” a reality – she is the recipient of three kidney transplants. Julie has battled kidney disease her entire life. Her parents found out when she was just six weeks old, and she lived with only 25% kidney function until she was 11 years old. Thankfully, […]
Power Player – Patrick
In April 2013, during a visit with my endocrinologist, I found out that I only had 35% kidney function. She referred me to a nephrologist. My nephrologist informed me of certain foods I needed to avoid so that I could prolong going on dialysis as long as possible. While I had to wait this thing […]
Power Player – Sarah
My name is Sarah Bradley, and I am from a small town called Roswell, NM. I’m a proud momma of two boys. I am also a heart transplant recipient. A lot of times, when you hear the words heart failure, you think of the elderly. As a healthy 25-year-old, never did I expect to hear […]
Power Player – Michele
Michele always assumed that the only way to be an organ donor was to designate it on your driver’s license. However, after a string of unexpected events, she became a living donor to a woman she had never met. Michele lives in Florida, but her kidney now lives in California. The origin of her story […]
Power Player – Christy
In 2005, Christy was diagnosed with heart failure. By 2014, she was told she would eventually need a heart transplant. The news that a heart transplant would be in her future was not easy to hear, but with a history a heart problems, Christy was not terribly surprised. She tried to stay positive when she […]
Power Player – Ray
Ray’s doctor often refers to him as a “walking miracle.” He beat all odds, and if he were a textbook case, he would not be around today to tell his story. It all started in December 2016, when Ray began retaining fluid in his abdomen. It became difficult to sleep, so Ray consulted his primary […]
Power Player – Megan
Megan was a 24-year-old teacher when she was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. She was told she would need a kidney transplant. When she found out she needed a kidney transplant, she was terrified. The internet was still new at the time, but she did as much research as she could. Her transplant center connected […]
Power Player – Valerie
I went to my GP back in 2000 because I had been suffering from diarrhea for a rather a long time. I was referred to a consultant, Dr. Ellis at the Horton Hospital, Banbury. When he looked at my blood test results, he found that I had the anti-mitochondrial antibody which can sometimes lead to […]
Two New Jersey Nonprofits Partner to Promote a Second Chance at Life
The American Society of Transplantation (AST), a New Jersey-based non-profit dedicated to advancing the field of organ transplantation has partnered with the Animal Welfare Association (AWA), the oldest and largest no-kill animal shelter in South Jersey, for a unique opportunity to promote two critical causes: organ donation and animal adoption. On August 20, the AST […]
Power Player – Brock
In April 2017, when Brock was just turning 11 years old, he was diagnosed with stage 4 hepatoblastoma, a tumor that starts in the liver. By July 2017, he needed a liver transplant and was added to the waiting list. All of this came as a shock to Brock and his family. Brock appeared to be completely […]
OPTN/UNOS Nominating Committee Seeking Nominations
The OPTN/UNOS Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for the 2019-2020 Board of Directors. Voting members of the Board of Directors are elected by a vote of the entire membership and serve as volunteers without compensation. Individuals may self-nominate or nominate others by submitting a biography form. The Nominating Committee will be taking nominations for the […]
Power Player – Dave
Written by: Dave R. My transplant journey began at birth – I just didn’t know it until I was in my 50s. I was born in 1956 with a hole in my heart, and of course, it was undiagnosed because the technology was just not available in the fabulous 50s. The amazing thing is I […]
Power Player – Steve
In 1992, Steve was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a form of liver disease. Fortunately, the disease progressed slowly and Steve’s doctors were able to keep it under control for many years. Nearly ten years later, it had been so long since Steve was first diagnosed that he had forgotten the potential outcome – a […]
Power Player – Kyle
When Kyle was just 20 months old, he was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Luckily, the impact on his childhood was low. It was not until April 2010 when he collapsed at 5:15 AM one morning. More severe issues came in 2013 when Kyle’s congestive heart failure started. In 2015, he was doing an exercise test. […]
Power Player – Alana
Alana was just 13 years old when she was diagnosed with kidney disease. It took ten years for her to require a kidney transplant, and thankfully, her brother volunteered to be her living donor. The living donation allowed Alana to bypass dialysis, so she was very excited (as well as a little nervous) when she […]
Power Player – Charles
My sister Nancy is seventy. When she was twelve her kidneys began to fail, triggered possibly by an autoimmune response to being stung by a swarm of bees. For the next six years, I watched as medications, needles, blood tests, doctors, hospitals, and finally kidney failure consumed her life. This was the sixties and artificial […]
Power Player – Anne Marie
I was born in Ottawa, Canada with a congenital heart defect. I had 3 heart surgeries as a child, the first one being the day after I was born. Doctors had warned my parents that these surgeries were palliative: problems would eventually start to arise because my heart would start to fail. Although I couldn’t […]
Power Player – Sandra
Sandra was on a family vacation in Mexico, when something happened that would change her life. While playing with her kids in a waterfall, she slipped and scraped her ankles. She had an open wound and entered tainted water. Months later, she began to feel tired. Her drowsiness turned to exhaustion, and Sandra soon went […]
Power Player – Denise
Denise recently celebrated the 20-year anniversary of her transplanted liver. Her donor was 75-year-old, Geraldine Hodges. Her liver is now over 95 years old – and still going strong. Denise found out she would likely need a liver transplant when she was around 18 years old. She was diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease, which ultimately […]
Power Player – Lauren
I am a 28-year-old female who has lived with Cystic Fibrosis her whole life. If you don’t know, Cystic Fibrosis causes thick mucus build-ups in lungs, which become nearly impossible for medicine to cure, thus resulting in a lung transplant. For the last six years, my doctor has causally mentioned lung transplant at various appointments. […]
Power Player – Robert
In 2012, I was working for a landscaping company. I got a couple of hernias and went to a surgeon to have them fixed during our offseason. I had to do regular blood work for the surgery. That is when my doctor called me in and said, sit down. The next few minutes turned my […]
Power Player – Carol
To say that I was an unlikely kidney donor is an understatement. If my high school yearbook had had a “Least Likely to Be a Living Kidney Donor” category, that would have been me. I’ve always been a wimp: I faint at flu shots, IVs, blood tests. And yet, in June 2006, I donated a […]
Power Player – Jill
Written by: Jill Stephenson My greatest gain I count as a loss. As the sister AND mother of organ donors, I can make this statement twice. When I was barely fifteen years old, my eleven-year-old brother J.T. was hit by a car and declared brain dead ten days later. As a family, we were approached […]
Power Player – Ken
Ken was just ten years old when he was diagnosed with kidney disease. His doctors tried to treat the condition for years, but by the time Ken was in college, it was clear he would need a kidney transplant. During his second year of medical school, Ken’s father volunteered to be a live donor and […]
Power Player – Rick
Rick and his wife, Jackie, have always been there for each other. They have been married 36 years and have always taken care of one another. In 2015, Rick gave his wife a Valentine’s Day Gift that will be difficult to top – he became her living kidney donor and saved her life. It all […]
Transplantation: The Science Fiction That Became Mainstream Medicine
Written by: Reg Green To most people — to almost all people — the idea of having someone else’s heart or liver, kidney, lungs or pancreas inside them is too outlandish to think about. But, in fact, all around us there are ordinary men, women, and children who one day have been, or will be, told […]
Power Player – Tatiana Benitez
When I was 5 years old, I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, and my only hope of survival was a heart transplant. My case was the first pediatric heart transplant in Paraguay. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jorge Jarolin at the Bautista Medical Center. Today, I celebrate 10 years with my heart transplant. I live […]
American Society of Transplantation Earns GuideStar Platinum Seal
The American Society of Transplantation (AST) announced that is has earned the 2018 Platinum GuideStar Nonprofit Profile Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. GuideStar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency recognizes AST’s sharing of detailed quantitative measures of progress and transparency. Less than 5,000 of […]
April is National Donate Life Month
April is Donate Life Month. This month-long celebration of life was first established by Donate Life America in 2003. Below is some essential information to help you celebrate. National Pediatric Transplant Week Brand new this year is the National Pediatric Transplant Week. Celebrated April 23-27, 2018, National Pediatric Transplant Week was created in collaboration with […]
Power Player – Holly
I was the youngest by three minutes. So, I suppose being a twin help me to fight, to give me the will to live from day one. The doctors knew something was wrong. I don’t think we ever did get a satisfying answer as to why I was sick. I ended up being the youngest […]
Power Player – Brooke
March 28th, 2018, marks our one-year Kidneyversary. Last year I was a 38-year-old wife and mother of 2 boys who were 7 and 9, and I decided to be a kidney donor for my brother-in-law. This would be his second kidney transplant. My brother in law, Rob, was diagnosed almost 15 years ago with FSGS. This […]
Power Player – Cynthia
Cynthia Infante is a two-time kidney transplant recipient. She was born in 1972 in Arizona and has lived there ever since. She was first diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of 15 and at the age of 19 she was placed on hemodialysis. While on dialysis, she remembers sitting for three to four hours […]
Law & Order Episode on Organ Donation
On March 14, 2018, an episode of Law & Order SVU aired which featured a story about a child’s organs being recovered without the consent of her parents. While this episode was not based on a true story, the message it portrays is damaging to the public’s trust around organ transplantation and donation. In the […]
Power Player – Anna
I never had any problems growing up and was “normal” for all I knew. I was 21 years old and in my 2nd week of nursing school when I became short of breath for over 3 days. Finally, I went to the ER because of it. That day, I went from being “normal” to finding […]
Power Player – Brigette
Written by: Brigette McKern At the age of four, I was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis – a disease that affected my lungs and digestive systems. Even with receiving quality care, my parents were told I would most likely not survive past school age. My parents kept me compliant with treatments, medications, and appointments, and as a […]
Power Player – Matt
My name is Matt Kishbaugh. I will be 35 on January 28, 2018. I live in Pennsylvania. My family and I know what it’s like to deal with kidney disease. I was 13 when I was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. Polycystic kidney disease is where a cluster of cysts form inside your kidney. The […]
Power Player – Rachel
Written by: Rachel Adams I donated altruistically to a woman in Pennsylvania. I think I’ll always remember the moment they told me her creatinine levels had gone down to normal. The sun was shining outside my hospital window and my mom and best friend were in the room. I didn’t know how many transplants were […]
February 14th is National Donor Day – Are You An Organ Donor?
For some, February 14th is filled with flowers, balloons, and chocolate hearts. But for those who advocate for organ donation, February 14th is a much bigger day – it’s National Donor Day. National Donor Day was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Saturn Corporation and its United Auto Workers in 1998. […]
Power Player – Paul
Paul is avid about working out and staying healthy. He never misses an opportunity to go to the gym and improve himself. He is also the recipient of two double lung transplants. When Paul was born, he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Despite his illness, he played sports and remained active growing up. He believes […]
Power Player – Jennifer
When Jennifer was 14, she was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Her journey eventually led her to dialysis and to the transplant waiting list. On September 9, 2016, she received a phone call around midnight. Her doctor asked her about dialysis and when she had last eaten. Then, she found out that a kidney […]
Power Player – Jordan
Jordan received a heart transplant as a child. He has been living life to the fullest – with a goal to be the first transplant recipient to visit every country in the world. Written by: Jordan D Marcia Follow him on Instagram and Facebook I was born with a rare, congenital heart defect known as transposition […]
Power Player – Tony
Written by: Tony Alfredo Leon Luna I am from Venezuela. I was diagnosed with myocardiopathy when I was 5 years old. I had my first pacemaker in 2005 and received another one 2011. After the second pacemaker, my heart was growing more and needed more stimulation. Since that the generator ran out faster, I received […]
Power Player – April
After a minor surgery in 2010, April discovered that she had chronic kidney disease. She then found out that she would need a kidney transplant. Unlike many patients with kidney disease, April never went on dialysis. She admits that she was too stubborn to start. Instead, she attempted to line up a living donor, although […]
Power Player – Edith
Edith was living a happy, healthy life when she suddenly became ill and was rushed to the emergency room. She discovered that that one of her lungs had collapsed and she was diagnosed with a lung condition called Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). She had been living with this condition for several years but was completely unaware. Unfortunately, […]
Power Player – Brandi
In 2014, I was living in Austin, Texas. I loved to exercise and lift weights. I enjoyed watching and playing sports. One day I notice my throat was sore so I went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with strep throat and prescribed antibiotics. After I finished my antibiotics, I noticed it was difficult to […]
Power Player – Miguel
Miguel was living a full life before his heart transplant. He had graduated dental school, started his own practice, and gotten married. In 2012, he began to feel sick. His face started to feel numb, so he went to see his doctor for tests. However, nothing was found in these tests, and he went back […]
Power Player – Stephen
Stephen was born with a very rare kidney disease called Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD) that affects both the kidneys and liver. The disease was discovered during his mother’s 27th week of pregnancy during a routine ultrasound. Doctors gave Stephen a less than 1% chance of living more than a few hours after he […]
Our Medicare policy for kidney transplants is totally irrational
This article was originally published on the Washington Post. By Marcello Tonelli and John Gill Marcello Tonelli is associate vice president of research at the University of Calgary. John Gill is a clinician scientist and professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and a member of the board of directors for the American Society of Transplantation. They are both […]
Power Player – Riley
By: Riley Tucker My name is Riley Tucker and I am sixteen years old. When I was seven years old I had been diagnosed with strep throat for nine consecutive months. By this time the doctors were starting to think there had to be some underlying cause. My family was recommended to go to Arkansas Children’s […]
Teen Panel – Transplant Patient Summit
We created a “teen panel” at the 2017 Transplant Patient Summit. Find out what it is like to be a teenager and manage an organ transplant. These teens discuss medication routines, friendships, and challenges.
Power Player – Amanda
By: Amanda Washek My name is Amanda and I am alive because of organ donation. At age 23, I was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a disease that causes scarring and blockage of the liver’s bile ducts. I went from a seemingly healthy, newlywed, young woman to needing a liver transplant […]
Power Player – Edward
Right before Edward’s 21st birthday, he was not celebrating. Instead, he was finding out that he had end-stage renal disease during a routine checkup. He would later find out that he needed a kidney transplant to survive. Edward had been excelling in school and sports, and now, everything was changing. Initially, his reaction was, “Why […]
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Power Player – Jen
By: Jen White Hi – I’m Jen – @mytransplantlife on Instagram. My Instagram page is educational in nature, as I’m a Registered Nurse with a graduate degree, having worked as a nurse educator, combining my health knowledge with my own kidney disease experience. I was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease in my early 20s, as […]
AST-Endorsed VA Transplant Coverage Act Passes House of Representatives
On November 7, the Veterans Transplant Coverage Act was passed in the House of Representatives. Under this modified act, the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) could pay for a living donation to a veteran by any live donor, including at facilities outside the VA that are part of the Veterans Choice Program. Previously, the VA was […]
Power Player – Maria
By: Maria Margarita Gamboa I am the only child of a single mother. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela (October 12, 1971). I believe in God, love, friendship and good faith. I am in love with LIFE, my family, and friends, ballet, photography, organ donation, music, sailing, and nature. I am crazy about HOPE: […]
Power Player – Larysa
By Larysa Sholom My name is Larysa and I was born in a small town in Eastern Europe. Nine years ago, I graduated from college and was spending my last carefree summer far from home, in hot San Antonio, Texas. Things were normal, nothing you wouldn’t expect in the life of a 21-year-old girl. Until that […]
American Society of Transplantation Announces the First Organ Transplant Research Call-to-Action in the US
Mount Laurel, NJ – October 23, 2017 – Today, the American Society of Transplantation (AST) launches a new fundraising initiative called Power2Save to address the critical need for funding transplant research and to increase public awareness for organ donation. Approximately 50 percent of all transplanted organs will experience failure within five to ten years, typically due […]
Transplant Patient Summit Live Stream
Thanks for watching the live stream! Transplant Patient Summit: Day 1 (part 1) Transplant Patient Summit: Day 1 (part 2) Transplant Patient Summit: Day 2 (part 1) Transplant Patient Summit: Day 2 (part 2) Appearances from Members of Congress: Jaime Herrera Beutler Jerrold Nadler Raul Ruiz Transplant Patient Summit 2017 Program Record your Tribute […]
Power Player – Talitha
By Talitha Juristo On March 4, 2016, after some routine lab work, I got a call from my doctor to go straight to the ER because my hemoglobin was dangerously low and my creatinine was high. Once at the hospital, they quickly realized I was in end-stage renal failure. 30 years of being a Type […]
Power Player – Tawny
By Tawny Blum As a kid, I was very active – shocking I know! I played basketball and softball all the time, that was until the summer before my senior year of high school (1996). I started having GI issues but at that age, who wants to talk about having diarrhea! Eventually, I was diagnosed […]
Selena Gomez Is Working on a Documentary Highlighting Her Health Issues
Last month, singer and actress, Selena Gomez, announced on Instagram that she had received a living kidney donation from actress, Francia Raisa. Now, Selena is gearing up to tell her story through a documentary about her health issues, including her battle with lupus and her kidney transplant. According to an insider, “Since having the transplant, Selena’s […]
Power Player – Alice
By Alice Vogt I am South African and was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system. I was diagnosed at age two, and my parents were told that there is about a 20% chance of me reaching the age of 20. However, I had a fairly normal childhood, apart […]
Power Player – Lisa Barker
After living a healthy and happy life, Lisa suddenly discovered she had a condition that only one in a million people develop. Soon after, she was put on the waiting list for an immediate liver transplant. Now, she and her husband are advocates for organ donation and transplant research. By Lisa Barker 2014-the start to […]
AST Statement on America’s Got Talent’s Angelica Hale
On behalf of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), I would like to congratulate Angelica Hale for her success on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Last night on the show’s finale, Angelica came in second place, but her inspiring transplant story has touched millions. At the age of 5, Angelica lost kidney function after double pneumonia. To keep […]
Kidney Recipient, Angelica Hale, Performs at America’s Got Talent Finale
10-year-old, Angelica Hale, has been stirring up a lot of national attention with her incredible voice and journey with kidney disease. At the age four, she was diagnosed with double pneumonia, which caused both of her kidneys to fail. She was on dialysis for 18 months before she received a transplant from her mother. Angelica […]
Power Player – Melanie
Melanie is just six months old, but she has been through a lot since she was born. When she was two months old, her parents were told that their little girl had been diagnosed with biliary cirrhosis which was causing liver cirrhosis. Unfortunately, the first surgery attempt to help Melanie was unsuccessful and caused her […]
Selena Gomez Receives Kidney Transplant
Selena Gomez just announced on Instagram that she underwent a secret kidney transplant over the summer to help in her fight against Lupus. She posted the news on Instagram early Thursday morning as an explanation on why she had been inactive during the summer. She received the gift of life from longtime friend and actress, Francia […]
Power Player – Bill
Bill considered himself to be a “lucky boy” growing up. He had a great relationship with his father; they played catch and watched baseball games for hours. He grew up in a Catholic household, where he attended church every week and was an altar boy with his brother. However, his perfect childhood came to an […]
Transplantation and Organ Donation Hitting the Big Screen
On September 29, 2017, a transplantation and organ donation focused film entitled “A Question of Faith” will begin playing in theaters. This film features three families who live in the same community and addresses organ, tissue, & eye donation advocacy. The trailer for this movie can be seen here. Sign up for our […]
Power Player – Christine
On October 24th, 1998, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Christine Galan became the first heart and liver transplant recipient in the Western United States. It was a new procedure, but Christine never doubted that it was for the best. Christine was born in Jamaica and moved to San Diego as a child. When she was a […]
UNOS Founder, Gene Pierce, Dies at 87
UNOS founder and original executive director, Gene Pierce, has passed away at the age of 87. Pierce began his transplant career in 1964 as a surgical administrator at the Medical College of Virginia (VCU Health). In 1984, UNOS was founded with Pierce as its executive director. Pierce retired in 1995. The national network had grown […]
