Cathi could never imagine that a simple typo would play a significant role in her husband’s transplant journey. In 2019, David received life-changing news that he was in kidney failure. Shaken by this diagnosis, his wife, Cathi, went to social media to gather advice on finding a donor. She typed in her county and stumbled […]
Power Player – Susan
Three years ago, Susan wanted to become more physically fit and learn about overall nutrition, health, and wellness, so she began searching for a personal trainer to help her achieve those goals. While exercising with her trainer, Matt, he mentioned that he would be visiting his hometown for a while to see his sister, Shannon, […]
Power Player – Brandon
At the young age of three, Brandon was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. Throughout his early childhood, he and his family were able to effectively manage his condition as he grew older. Throughout high school and college, Type I Diabetes did not limit Brandon from graduating and becoming a high school social studies teacher. A […]
Power Player – NauBriana
Through childhood and adolescence, NauBriana had not experienced a need for eyeglasses or contacts. However, in 2008, she began to experience disturbances in her vision as she was driving home one day. She figured that perhaps she needed prescription eyeglasses that would help her while driving or reading while in the classroom, but she soon […]
Power Player – Eryn
My name is Eryn and I am a kidney transplant recipient. I was born with congenital abnormalities and had multiple surgeries throughout my childhood to include a nephrectomy at the age of five. My singular functioning kidney allowed me to live a normal life, participating in social and extracurricular activities with the occasional doctor visit and testing […]
Power Player – Linda
My name is Linda Walker, and I am a kidney donor and recipient. I’m married to Charles Walker and we have two children and one grandson. In 1998, my brother needed a kidney transplant. Out of my eight siblings, I was a perfect match. I went through several weeks of testing. On March 31, 1998, I donated […]
Power Player – Kylie
Luke and Jesse’s Story – as told by their mother, Kylie The Wilson family’s story began as Kylie Wilson was experiencing her second pregnancy—this time with twins. Overall, she had a healthy pregnancy and normal birth with seemingly well, beautiful baby boys. However, three days after she gave birth, they began to notice that both […]
Power Player – Kevin
In the year 1992, Kevin was born happy and healthy, until one day, two weeks after returning home and while his mother was feeding him, Kevin coded in her arms. Luckily they were able to get him to the hospital to save his life, to then find that a viral infection caused him to develop […]
Power Player – Shirleyanne
Written by Shirleyanne J Psalm 140:1-2 “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all of my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” My God Support Journey began on June 20, 2016, when I survived a massive heart attack. At 3:00 am, […]
Power Player – Lisa
Written by: Lisa E. The universe may place hurdles in your path that seem insurmountable, but the resilience of the human spirit will also give you the strength and stamina to overcome them. In 2017, I was thrust into a race I had never wanted to run where reaching the finish line meant life or […]
Power Player – Kingston
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 – Annemarie
Annemarie’s story began with a morning walk alongside her mother, sister, and three family dogs before the start of the school day. It was the first and only time that Annemarie and her sister asked if they could join their mother to walk the dogs. During their walk and in a hurry to get back […]
Power Players – Mike and Joy
Last October, Joy decided she wanted to be a living kidney donor. She didn’t have a recipient in mind, but she filled out a questionnaire and was told she could proceed with medical testing. “I just woke up one day and decided I wanted to be a donor,” Joy said. A couple of […]
Power Player – Robert
Written by Robert C. Five years ago, Robert Collier lay in a hospital bed after years of trying to fight off a disease that was “scarring my lungs to where they were hard as a rock.” Collier was placed on a lung transplant list, but it could take months before he may receive new lungs. […]
Power Player – Paul
Paul’s journey began on March 17, 2012, when he unknowingly had an 8-hour heart attack that he assumed was mental. When he went to the hospital, they confirmed he had a heart attack. Immediately after, Paul quit smoking and changed his lifestyle. His heart muscle was scarred very badly but Paul and his medical team […]
Power Player – Kathie
Kathie Boyette is no stranger to health ailments. Having Type I Diabetes throughout her life meant always having to rely on medication to adjust her blood sugar levels. But, after years of taking insulin, her pancreas was beginning to fail and a transplant seemed imminent. At first, Kathie thought a transplant was a drastic move, […]
Power Player – Moises
Moises’ transplant journey began when his doctor diagnosed him with kidney disease during an evaluation for Gastric Bypass surgery. The progression of Moises’ kidney disease started slowly but increased over the next five years. He knew that he would soon need dialysis but always thought a transplant would come first. Moises is a hairdresser and owns […]
Power Player – Michael L.
In April 2018, Detective Lollo saw an NYPD Intranet posting about another police officer that needed a kidney. Michael inquired about donating but did not receive a response. Michael didn’t think about living donation again until September 2018, when he saw an article about Marc Weiner, a man who had a Times Square billboard donated […]
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 – Tammy
It was the early 2000s, Tammy was in her 40s, and she was becoming increasingly ill. This went on for about a year. Meanwhile, Tammy was missing work and losing a significant amount of weight. Her doctor advised her to see an allergist. When she went to see the allergist, she was told that she […]
Power Player – Patricia
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 – 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 – 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 […]
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 – 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 – 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 – 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 […]
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 – 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 […]
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 – 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 – 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 […]
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 – 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 – 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 – 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 – 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 – Nai
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 those who donate and create fundraisers for research. They serve to remind us that we all have the Power2Save. Our latest, Power Player, Nai Azzi, […]
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 […]
Father’s Day Power Player: Alice
With Father’s Day upon us, most of us who are lucky enough to have our father’s in our lives are finalizing plans, buying gifts, and signing cards. It’s an important day to recognize. Our fathers are part of the reason we were given life. Our latest Power Player, Alice, won’t be able to find the […]
2017 Research Grants
In 2017, the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and the Transplantation and Immunology Research Network (TIRN) facilitated providing $460,000 in research money to investigators in the field of transplantation. TIRN provides both career development grants for young investigators and research funding in specific areas along with outside organizations. AST TIRN/Astellas Clinical Science Faculty Development Research […]
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 […]
Lindsey’s Story: One Transplant for Life
At only 14 years old, Lindsey Duquette bravely testified before the FDA about the importance of organ transplant research and organ donation. As a young child, she contracted a rare kidney disease that resulted in hundreds of hospitalizations and the need for a kidney transplant. Luckily, her father was the perfect match. Hear her story […]
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 […]
AST President Interviews on NPR About Kidney Transplants
Earlier this week, the President of the American Society of Transplantation, Anil Chandraker, was interviewed on NPR’s “The Point” about kidney transplants. He was joined by a kidney transplant recipient, Hanu Singh, in a fantastic show that provided an overview of the role of the kidney, kidney transplants, and AST’s Power2Save initiative. There are more people in […]