In April of 2019, Lisa Macfarland welcomed her 2nd son, Kingston, into the world, who appeared to be a happy, healthy baby. Yet, 2 weeks after Lisa gave birth, Kingston was no heavier than his original birth weight. Doctors insisted to Lisa that she was simply not feeding her son enough, and suggested supplementing with […]
Power Player – Terri
Terri was born with Tyrosinemia, a rare metabolic disease, where the body doesn’t have what it needs to break down tyrosine. She was in and out of the hospital frequently as a child; something as simple as a cold would put her in the hospital. Terri’s care began in Georgia, but Terri and her family […]
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 – 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 […]
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 – 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 […]
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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 […]
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 […]
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 – 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 […]
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 […]
Power Players: The Vargas Family
Sarah Vargas, and her husband, Tony, are true Power Players in our eyes. Their daughter, Rosalina, was born with Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD), which was discovered when she was four days old through newborn screening. At just 11 days old, the couple came close to losing their daughter. After that, they vowed to do […]
Power Player: Frank Greaney
Frank Greaney is happy to be alive, and he credits his survival to his organ transplant. In 1997, Frank Greaney was diagnosed with an autoimmune liver disease, Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). PSC is a progressive liver disease for which there is no cure. He was soon listed for a liver transplant in the New England […]
Transplant Pioneer, Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, Dies at 90
Thousands of lives are saved every year by organ donation and transplantation. The treatment of transplantation has allowed recipients to experience longer lives and has given them a second chance at life. This treatment, however, would not be possible without the researchers and surgeons who perform these acts. Dr. Thomas E. Starzl was known as […]
