FYI, this has turned personal recently. After 22 years of 1.1 or 1.2 creatinine and GFR > 60, my physical last fall included a 1.3 creatinine and 55 GFR. In the five months since my PCP decided to go ultra cautious, I've seen my urologist and a new nephrologist, three more blood draws and two more urinalyses. Creatinine is holding steady at 1.3, GFR is back above 60, and urine is normal. PCP and nephrologist want regular follow-up, urologist says, "You just turned 67. These are great numbers for someone with two kidneys. If we see a spiking trend, that'll be an issue." From my viewpoint, I'm already seeing both PCP and urologist regularly, now I have a nephrologist, too. I feel fine and am unworried. May you have as good fortune.

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-enacts-living-donor-10000-tax-credit

Michigan enacts living donor $10,000 tax credit
By Ingrid Kelley


The Brief

• • Starting with the 2025 tax year, when you give the gift of life, such as through a liver or kidney donation.
  • This tax credit covers un-reimbursed expenses like lost wages, travel and hotel expenses, and childcare costs for qualifying organ donations made on or after Jan. 1, 2025.

...

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/new-kensington-woman-living-donor-donation/

Pittsburgh-area woman donates liver to coworker's mom: "How could I not?"
By Chris Hoffman

A New Kensington woman in need of a liver transplant found a living donor in an unexpected source: her daughter's coworker.
Without really knowing the recipient, the donor knew the pain the family was going through and wanted to help in the most selfless way possible.
Jaylynne Kemerly and Dr. Brianna Bayer are now forever connected.
"We're liver buddies," Bayer laughed.
Kemerly was diagnosed with a liver disease in 2007 that slowly damages the liver. She says in the past couple of years, between the pain, iron transfusions, blood transfusions and stomach bleeding, her quality of life became miserable.
"I was spending more time at a hospital, or I was in bed," Kemerly remembered.
Her daughter works with Bayer at an AHN facility in Cheswick.
"I know how close they are, so I had a firsthand seat to watching through her daughter's eyes the decline in her health and how hard that was on her and her family," Bayer said.
After Kemerly got on the transplant list and found out no family members were a match, Bayer stepped up while living a busy life as a doctor with four kids.
"My thought was just 'how could you not?' How could you not take that chance to help somebody?" Bayer said.
Kemerly and Bayer matched and after a bout with cancer, Kemerly was able to get her transplant on Aug. 11 last year at Allegheny General Hospital. Surgeons took about two-thirds of Bayer's liver.
"She's a wonderful person. She's my miracle," Kemerly said.
Now more than six months later, both are doing fine. Kemerly's body has accepted the transplant and Bayer's liver grew back. While Bayer is humble, saying she was just trying to help someone, Kemerly is beyond grateful for a new chance in life.
"She gave me more time with my husband and family, my grandkids. I'm so thankful," Kemerly said.
"What more could you ask for? And what greater gift could you give somebody?" Bayer said.  
"I may not be standing here without her," Kemerly replied.

Amanda's listing is new this past month and she sent along media links to some of the coverage she's experienced since:

https://abcnews4.com/features/lowcountry-woman-donates-part-of-liver-to-pediatric-patient-in-honor-of-family-friend-wciv-abc-news-4-network-for-hope-organ-donation-amanda-graham-liver-cancer

https://www.live5news.com/2025/04/11/helping-save-lives-push-more-living-organ-donors/

https://www.redcross.org/local/south-carolina/about-us/news-and-events/news/giving-pieces-of-herself-to-help-others--red-cross-blood-donor-d.html

https://www.wvxu.org/show/cincinnati-edition/2025-12-18/living-donors-liver-portion

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

March 12th is World Kidney Day!

  I hope this month finds you all in good health, good spirits, and surrounded by loved ones. Here are the amazing folks celebrating memories of sacrifice on behalf of others, from Rosemarie 49 years ago, to Amanda last year. One of our celebrity donors, Virginia, is celebrating 20 years this month. We sympathize with Marva and Sunil who are remembering their losses of their recipients 22 and 19 years ago. 

  Do take good care all! Invite others to share their anniversary with us!

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/


Forty-ninth anniversary:
Rosemarie Gower Kelley's older sister donated a kidney to her on March 17th, 1977

Fortieth anniversary:
Grace donated a kidney to her daughter on March 17th, 1986

Thirty-seventh anniversary:
Mychelle Rucker donated a kidney to her brother on March 9th, 1989

Thirty-third anniversary:
Ronald E. Harper donated a kidney to his spouse, Barbara J. Harper, on March 23rd, 1993. "Kidney survived 18 years."

Thirtieth anniversary:
John donated a kidney to his friend Anne on March 11th, 1996

Twenty-eighth anniversary:
Gina Thor donated a kidney to her brother on March 3rd, 1998
Maxine Tierney donated a kidney to her sister, Hunter Mahon, on March 17th, 1998

Twenty-seventh anniversary:
Christine Hayes donated a kidney to her friend, Naomi Pollard, on March 18th, 1999

Twenty-sixth anniversary:
Susan Molloy donated a kidney to her husband, James, on March 13th, 2000

Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Jeff Sears donated a kidney to his mother on March 2nd, 2002

Twenty-third anniversary:
Rebecca Miller donated a kidney to her father, Bob, on March 11th, 2003
Patricia DiClemente donated a kidney to a stranger on March 14th, 2003
Shandy Wheaton donated a kidney to her mom, Shirley Wheaton on March 24th, 2003
Patrick McGuire donated a kidney to his wife on March 26th, 2003

Twenty-second anniversary:
Margaret Earnest donated a kidney to her husband on March 4th, 2004
Kay Rapien donated a kidney to her brother-in-law on March 9th, 2004
Marva Gresham donated a kidney to an unrelated person found on LDO! (since deceased) on March 25th, 2004
Jason Clipston donated a kidney to his brother on March 29th, 2004
Selena Hall donated a kidney to a friend on March 30th, 2004

Twenty-first anniversary:
Sally Reif donated a kidney to Shar Senor Carlyle on March 2nd, 2005
Michelle Makedon donated a kidney to her father, Paul Makedon, on March 8th, 2005
Erick Gray donated a kidney to his father on March 22nd, 2005
Kelly Stout donated a kidney to a co-worker on March 22nd, 2005

Twentieth anniversary:
Virginia Postrel donated a kidney to a friend, Sally Satel, on March 4th, 2006
Donna donated a kidney to her husband on March 14th, 2006
Linda Busby donated a kidney to her brother on March 24th, 2006
Anthony Hart donated a kidney to his niece on March 29th, 2006
Carrie Schwaderer donated a kidney to the son of a customer on March 29th, 2006

Nineteenth anniversary:
Christy Lindell donated a kidney to her sister on March 5th, 2007
Holly Harrington donated a kidney to her sister on March 5th, 2007
RaChelle Wilkinson (Shell) donated a kidney to her friend, Sandra, on March 20th, 2007
Kelly Anne Astle donated a kidney to her father on March 22nd, 2007
Sunil Joseph donated a kidney to his brother on March 29th, 2007.  His brother died seven days later, on Good Friday.

Eighteenth anniversary:
Mindy-J Wise donated a kidney on March 3rd, 2008
Barbara Coleman donated a kidney to Alyssa, a 19 year old family friend, on March 6th, 2008
Michael von Wahlde donated a kidney to his mother, Carol, on March 10th, 2008
Denora Carpenter donated a kidney to a friend on March 19th, 2008
Anna Kidd donated a kidney to Jody on March 26th, 2008
David Schneider donated a kidney to his stepfather on March 27th, 2008

Seventeenth anniversary:
James Roach III donated a kidney to his wife's cousin, Joe, on March 9th, 2009
Julie Sullivan donated a kidney to her brother, Clint, on March 31st, 2009

Sixteenth anniversary:
Lisa Marie Kull donated a kidney to her friend, Heather Tucker, on March 5th, 2010
Erica Rodriguez donated a kidney to her brother, Anthony, on March 18th, 2010
Cindy Wittmier donated a kidney to her best friend, Gloria Thiessen, on March 23rd, 2010
Christine Lerchen donated a kidney to her Dad on March 24th, 2010
Scot Sandhoefner made a non-directed kidney donation on March 26th, 2010
Bonnie Goldberg donated a kidney to an unrelated person on March 30th, 2010

Fifteenth anniversary:
Shari Newman donated a kidney to her older sister, Dawn Ahrens, on March 8th, 2011
Janice Dodge donated a kidney to her niece, Jennifer Verhoeven, on March 10th, 2011
Donna Holmes donated a kidney to her husband, Steve, on March 11th, 2011
Steve Windle donated a kidney to his brother, Tom, on March 15th, 2011

Fourteenth anniversary:
Michael Eckman donated a kidney to his brother, Mark, on March 9th, 2012
Emilie donated a kidney to a friend on March 26th, 2012
Alyssa Stubblefield donated a kidney to Kristi, an unrelated person, on March 27th, 2012
Suzanne Frye donated a kidney to her mother, Barb, on March 27th, 2012
Jody Phipps donated a kidney to her cousin, Doug Henning, on March 29th, 2012

Thirteenth anniversary:
Elizabeth Castillo donated a kidney to her brother, Alex De La Torre, on March 15th, 2013
Chad Snodgrass donated a kidney to his friend, Joe Brown, on March 25th, 2013
Tammy Grindle donated a kidney to her friend, Warren Conary, on March 26th, 2013

Eleventh anniversary:
Jim Mullins donated part of his liver to his brother, Tim, on March 9th, 2015
Christine Brock donated a kidney in a paired exchange to benefit her best friend's father on March 26th, 2015

Sixth anniversary:
Terri Herrington donated her left kidney to Jeffrey Granger, already a kidney-pancreas recipient of Terri's since deceased husband, on March 3rd, 2020. Jeffrey received 2 more years from Terri.

First anniversary:
Amanda Graham made a non-directed donation of part of her liver to nine month old Sylvia Green on March 7th, 2025

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

Please consider applying! Try to get your application in by March 16th! New committee members likely to be contacgted for interviews quickly, as the goal is to have all voted on and seated for the new fiscal year on July 1st. Thank you!

A close friend of ours asked my husband to support him in his attempt to altruistically donate his spare kidney to a man in America dying from stage-4 kidney disease while also looking after his wife suffering from advanced Alzheimer's. My husband captured the process on camera and I produced the film. What followed was really amazing. We hope this can help spread awareness about this gift of life process, dispel some of the myths and fears around it, and inspire others to step forward to donate. The full documentary will be out soon.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/i_9zWQZXrUs

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15587211/Dying-father-38-denied-liver-transplant-tumour-0-4mm-big.html

Father-of-one, 38, recently diagnosed with cancer is denied liver transplant 'because his tumour is 4mm too big'
By EMMA GRITT

...
Ms Kay has spoken of her 'utter fear' at the prospect of losing her husband, and is feeling the pressure or finding - and funding - a living liver donor after James' medical team told the couple that time was not on their side. 
She said: 'The cancer is so aggressive and James does not have time to wait. Unless we can get it done abroad, he won't survive.'
...

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2845580

The Evolution of Deceased Organ Donation in the US
Aleah L. Brubaker, MD, PhD1; Jesse D. Schold, PhD, MStat, MEd2,3;  Gabriel T. Schnickel, MD, MPH1
JAMA
Published Online: February 26, 2026
doi: 10.1001/jama.2026.0621

Modern transplantation began in 1954 when Joseph Murray, MD, successfully transplanted a kidney from one identical twin brother to another. Since then, the US transplant system has evolved through a public-private partnership to address trust, ensure equity, and expand access. In 1968, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act created a state-level legal basis for organ donation, establishing an individual's right to make an anatomic gift after death. Rapid adoption of this act led to emergence of regional organ procurement organizations (OPOs), formed as extensions of transplant centers or hospital networks, and ad hoc operating practices shaped by local hospital relationships and various legal interpretations.
...

https://www.hrsa.gov/optn/about/volunteer

  I'm a volunteer, initially serving as an appointed member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Public Solicitation of Organ Donors 20 years ago, then elected to two terms on the UNOS/OPTN board of directors, now again elected to serve on the OPTN board. In addition I've served on the Kidney, Executive, Patient Affairs, Living Donor, and Finance Committees. Policy development and governance of the US transplant system depends of volunteers of all kinds, including we living donors and our recipients, families, and friends. I urge you to consider offering to serve in this way to improve policy and practice for everyone involved in and patients benefiting from transplantation. It's a challenging time of significant change and talented, principled people are very much needed. Please say yes.

https://www.hrsa.gov/optn/about/volunteer