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 […]
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 – 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Power Player – Rima
Rima has spent most of her life in and out of hospitals due to Cystic Fibrosis. She knew she would eventually need a double lung transplant, but for so long, she was told that she wasn’t sick enough. She was so used to being told it wasn’t time, that when she was finally told that […]
Power Player – Jean
By Jean Mihich One never knows what journey we will undertake in this lifetime. I must say that my journey as a person with kidney disease began in infancy and continues to this day. It has been a series of small steps towards awareness and understanding, which was first started by my parents who had […]
Power Player – Mary
By the time Mary was 12 years old, she had already received her second kidney transplant. After being on peritoneal dialysis for two years at 3-years-old, Mary’s kidneys completely failed by the age of 5. At 5 years old, Mary received her first kidney transplant. Both of Mary’s transplants were from deceased donors, as none […]
Power Player – Rachel
After watching a Katie Couric news segment in 2010, Rachel Bennett Steury made a decision that would change the life of someone she never met. The program was on kidney chains, kidney donation, and organ donation. Rachel never knew that kidney donation was possible while still alive. “I felt like Katie Couric was talking directly […]
Power Player – Glenda
When 15-year-old Glenda Daggert was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in the early 1960s, “you hid diabetes.” In spite of her illness, Glenda went on to earn degrees in physical education and instructional technology, then teach for several years. She married Ira Copperman, moved to New York, and joined IBM. After 30 years with the […]
Power Player – Cheryl
A PowerPlayer is anyone who supports the life-saving cause of organ donation and transplantation, from the patients who receive transplants to the donors and their families who make those transplants possible, to the medical professionals who arrange and perform the life-saving miracle of transplantation. They serve to remind us that we all have the Power2Save. […]
Power Player – Tom
Reading can often change our lives or make us think differently. In Tom’s case, reading a blog post from political writer, Virginia Postrel, changed his life and saved another. After reading the blog, he discovered that Postrel planned to donate one of her kidneys to author, Sally Satel. Although Tom did not know anyone who […]
Power Player – Crissi
After overhearing a conversation between her daughter and her daughter’s friend, Crissi made a decision that would change the life of a man she had never met. When her daughter was in high school, Crissi overheard a casual conversation that her daughter was having with a friend. The friend’s father needed a kidney transplant and […]
Power Player – Lisa Washington
Lisa was born with scarred kidneys. By age 7, she was diagnosed with kidney disease. At 7, Lisa didn’t quite know what that meant, but thankfully, she was able to have a normal childhood. She always knew she would eventually need a kidney transplant, but she continued to live her life, got married, and had […]
Power Player: Lou Ann
There are a number of online pleas for living organ donations for those in need of a kidney transplant. It is a difficult ask for those in need, and it is a significant sacrifice for those who choose to answer. Our latest Power Player, Lou Ann, was surfing the web one day in 2014 when […]
Power Player: Kati
A PowerPlayer is anyone who supports the life-saving cause of organ donation and transplantation, from the patients who receive transplants to the donors and their families who make those transplants possible, to the medical professionals who arrange and perform the life-saving miracle of transplantation. Kati was presented with an opportunity to save someone in her […]
Power Player: Jason Nothdurft
Community service has always inspired Jason Nothdurft. For 66 years, his grandfather served at his local volunteer fire company, followed by his father, who served 25 years, and Jason, who has served five years. His family has been recognized as the first family in New Jersey to have three generations volunteering in the same department […]
22 Years After His Death, Nicholas Green’s Heart Stops Beating
By Reg Green In 1994, The Green family was on vacation in Italy when tragedy struck. Their son, Nicholas, was killed by highway robbers. His parents, Reg and Maggie, decided to donate his organs, which saved the lives of seven people and tripled organ donation in Italy. Today, Reg Green continues to speak out about […]