September has songs aplenty lauding its nature as a widely felt turning point in the annual cycles of our lives. The folks we remember here doubled down on that sensation with life altering gifts given and received. We wonder what life now holds for all of them and those they love and are loved by. We hope only for the best for all. Best wishes to you in this seasoin of change. May it be for the better for you.

Thirty-fifth anniversary:
Lee donated a kidney to his father on September 11th, 1991

Thirty-third anniversary:
Rory Eckmann donated part of his liver to his niece, Megan, on September 7th, 1993

Twenty-sixth anniversary:
Cindy Leuty Jones donated a kidney to her brother on September 20th, 2000

Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Becky Bailey donated a kidney to her daughter, Brittney, on September 5th, 2001
Christine donated a kidney to a stranger on September 13th, 2001
Suzanne Hunter donated a kidney to her son, Ian, on September 17th, 2001. The graft failed four years later and Ian has been back on dialysis.
Marcia Pitlor donated a kidney to her brother on September 18th, 2001
Irene Lewis donated a kidney to her husband's ex's daughter on September 19th, 2001

Twenty-fourth anniversary:
The Reverend Ronda L. Hawkins donated a kidney to one of her parishioners on September 4th, 2002
Brandi Wittman donated a kidney to a co-worker on September 25th, 2002
Wendy Miller donated a kidney to her sister on September 25th, 2002
Joe Zangara donated a kidney to his mother, Audrey, on September 30th, 2002

Twenty-third anniversary:
Howard donated a kidney to his brother on September 3rd, 2003
Beth Wilson donated a kidney to her mother, Lola, on September 16th, 2003
Clay donated a kidney to a stranger on September 26th, 2003
Christopher Yanakos donated part of his liver to his mother on September 28th, 2003

Twenty-second anniversary:
Joyce A. Falsey donated a kidney to a stranger on September 7th, 2004
Emalene Englestad donated a kidney to her sister-in-law on September 9th, 2004
Nancy Foster donated part of her liver to her brother on September 13th, 2004
Debbie Petway donated a kidney to her father, Melvin, on September 21st, 2004
Shelby Humberg Richardson donated a kidney to her brother on September 22nd, 2004

Twenty-first anniversary:
Chaya Lipschutz donated a kidney to a stranger in September 2005
Cindy Fox donated part of her liver to her husband, Victor, on September 1st, 2005
Jenn donated a kidney to her brother on September 20th, 2005
Lisa Branting donated a kidney to her best friend's husband on September 25th, 2005
Suzanne Weiner donated a kidney to a friend on September 26th, 2005
Lillie donated a kidney to an unrelated recipient on September 27th, 2005
Rose Crawford donated a kidney to her brother on September 30th, 2005

Twentieth anniversary:
Janice Kost donated a kidney to her nephew on September 5th, 2006
Christina Dobosiewicz donated a kidney to her stepfather, John Fattorusso, now deceased,  on September 6th, 2006
Kelvin Hockstock donated a kidney to his wife on September 8th, 2006
Kathie Jackson donated a kidney to Ken Singer, no relation, on September 26th, 2006
Malkah Buchweitz donated a kidney to her brother on September 28th, 2006

Nineteenth anniversary:
Kimberly Hill donated a kidney to her brother, Tim Edgar, on September 5th, 2007
Kim Alice donated a kidney to her stepfather on September 12th, 2007
Ray Vidic donated a kidney to his friend, Troy Kahklen, on September 13th, 2007
Stacey Canas donated a kidney to her best friend's mom on September 13th, 2007
Gabrielle Benson donated a kidney to her husband on September 24th, 2007

Eighteenth anniversary:
Ailey donated a kidney to a church associate on September 16th, 2008
Carmen Spanglers donated a kidney to her friend's husband on September 22nd, 2008
Diane donated a kidney to her brother-in-law, Mark, on September 23rd, 2008
Margaret Florence donated a kidney to her cousin on September 23rd, 2008
Krystal Star Garcia donated a kidney to her husband, Manuel, on September 24th, 2008
Jill Andahazy donated a kidney to her husband's cousin Katie on September 25th, 2008
Carla Giampaglia donated a kidney to an unrelated person on September 26th, 2008
Angi Kaltenbach donated a kidney to a friend on September 30th, 2008
Jeff Hill donated a kidney to Eric Miller on September 30th, 2008
Tammy Stickney donated a kidney to her father on September 30th, 2008

Seventeenth anniversary:
Tom Stalsitz donated a kidney to his friend, Joseph R. Brugger, on September 4th, 2009
Cathleen Aliberti donated part of her liver to her sister, Maureen Manning, on September 9th, 2009
Melissa Foskett Goleno donated a piece of her liver to her then 12 year old niece on September 10th, 2009
Leonard Spogis donated part of his liver to his brother-in-law, Michael Olson, on September 23rd, 2009
Terri O'Brien donated her left kidney to her cousin's wife on September 29th, 2009

Sixteenth anniversary:
Julie Coronel donated a kidney to her husband, Ruben, on September 7th, 2010
Brett Hartmann donated a kidney to a friend's son on September 18th, 2010
Andria donated a kidney to her son, Daniel, on September 28th, 2010
George Taniwaki made a non-directed kidney donation on September 10th 2010

Fifteenth anniversary:
Michelle Wortman donated a kidney to her sister on September 1st, 2011
Jeff Smith made a non-directed kidney donation on September 5th, 2011
Tori Neese Bergstrom donated "Billy the Kidney" to her friend on September 6th, 2011
Angela Stimpson became a non-directed kidney donor on September 22nd, 2011

Fourteenth anniversary:
Pam donated part of her liver to her brother, Edwin Dudley, on September 4th, 2012
Sue donated a kidney to her husband, Jeff, on September 4th, 2012
Sara Stallings donated a kidney to her son, Mac Yeida, on September 12th, 2012
Dawn donated a kidney to her daughter, Mandy, on September 27th, 2012

Thirteenth anniversary:
Brian Hartung donated a kidney to his brother, Brad, on September 9th, 2013
Sally Obrien donated a kidney to her friend, Sally Busset, on September 18th, 2013
Patty Hogan Jack donated part of her liver to her sister on September 24th, 2013
Terry Hunter made a non-directed kidney donation on September 30th, 2013

Eleventh anniversary:
Julianne Bancroft made a non-directed kidney donation on September 16th, 2015
Archie White donated a kidney to his daughter, Carrie, on September 30th, 2015

Tenth anniversary:
Susan Huizenga donated a kidney to Buddi Subba, found through their church bulletin, on September 12th, 2016
Natasha Richards donated a kidney to her step-father, Bernardo Bermudez, on September 20th, 2016

Seventh anniversary:
Constance M. Smith made a non-directed donation to Connie Cull on September 27th 2019

Third anniversary:
Julee Morrissy donated a kidney to one of her best friends, Brian Chilla, on September 5th, 2023

Second anniversary:
Gunnar Naughton donated a kidney to his fellow Marine, Byron, as part of a paired exchange on September 17th, 2024

First anniversary:
Andrea Teeters made a non-directed donation of part of liver on September 15th, 2025

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2026/08/19/meet-the-evanston-mom-who-started-donor-chain-that-led-to-ethan-carpenters-kidney-transplant/

Meet the Evanston mom who started donor chain that led to Ethan Carpenter's kidney transplant
by Wendi Kromash

Carolyn Read, a palliative care nurse practitioner who lives in Evanston, is the donor who started the chain that ultimately connected Ethan Carpenter to his ideal match. Read was inspired to donate after reading a 2025 RoundTable article.

Derrick and Marie-Paule, Ethan's parents, were told that after the story ran, about 90 people were screened.
A great surgical experience

Read's surgery took place on July 16 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and she went home the following day. Ultimately Read's kidney went to a man in his 40s or 50s for whom her kidney was a perfect match.

On the phone, she was eager to discuss her surgery.

"Look at how great I feel. And this is two weeks out. Imagine where I'll be six months out. Like they say, a lot of people get healthier because then you start really paying attention," she said.

What made Read pursue donation?

"The story about Ethan came out in the RoundTable last year, and that was where I read it. And I was like, 'Well, why not try? He's 18, he's otherwise really healthy, and has a whole life in front of him. How could I not at least try?' " said Read. It turned out that Read and Marie-Paule, Ethan's mom, knew each other casually through the booster board at ETHS, but Read hadn't made the connection when she began her donor journey.

Financial assistance for donors

"The state of Illinois mandates that the employer pays an organ donor for two full weeks without them having to take any paid time off, sick time, leave of absence, anything like that. So, the first two weeks of my pay are full pay based on the state of Illinois' law, which is huge, right?" Read said.

"But it's so important for people to know there are ways to fund this," she said. She worked with the National Living Donor Assistance Center to find resources and assistance. In addition to the state-mandated two weeks off, Read activated her short-term disability policy through her employer, which pays a percentage of her salary. Short-term disability policies usually pay 60 to 80% of a weekly paycheck, depending on one's employer.

"They [NLDAC] are giving me that percentage that I'm not getting, so they're making my paycheck whole for those three weeks that I'm on disability or short-term disability," Read said. She will take one week of paid time off.
"The association also pays for mileage, parking. If you have to fly somewhere to donate, if you need to stay in a hotel, if your caregiver needs food while they're waiting for you or while you're in the hospital, they pay for all sorts of stuff, and it makes this whole thing so much more doable. I think they can give up to $6,000 per donor," she said.

"If I had more kidneys, I would do it again."

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/state-michigan-allows-tax-credit-private-employers-living-organ-donors

State of Michigan allows tax credit for private employers of living organ donors
The bill passes over a year after the State of Michigan began giving a one-time tax credit or deduction to individual living organ donors
The State of Michigan has passed a new bill that will allow private employers to receive a tax deduction or credit for employees who are given paid time off to be living organ donors.
This bill comes over a year after Michigan passed a separate bill allowing for a one-time tax credit or deduction for living organ donors to cover expenses related to their donation.
For public employees, leave for organ donation now is included in Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA.
The passing of SB 301 will allow private employers to deduct or claim a tax credit for any employees who were living donors during the tax year starting January 1, 2026.
This is currently a voluntary program.
Potential donor candidates should inform their employers about this option.

Dear Daka,

  I hope all's well now! It's an assumotion on my part, but the lack of response to your question suggests none of us have experienced this. We hope it's resolved to your satisfaction and your recovery from surgery has continued well. Best wishes!

https://ca.style.yahoo.com/john-gottis-grandson-ordered-donate-213243690.html

Seems like informed consent is getting trampled. Whether or not the individuals involved aided, abetted, or benefitted from John Gotti's crimes or infamy, they're in the news now, and in a way that makes everyone look like they can't find a good life decision to make among them. My opinion. Yours may vary. 

Hard to believe it's August already! The time does truly fly by. We hope every is finding restorative pastimes and is surrounded by loving family and friends. 

Celebrate with us as we remember the gifts given, sometimes at great personal cost, in the hope of better life for so many beloved family, friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers, never revealed. 

Do you find these monthly messages an appropriate, moving tribute? Is your anniversary listed, and you look forward to seeing it, year after year? I've been a participant here on LDO! since my donation in 2003, and an avid reader of the what to know pages and the discussion forum before then. I reached out to a Donor Buddy before I donated and received valuable perspective on a challenge I was facing on my path to donation. Those of you I've corresponded with or met over the decades have provided me diverse viewpoints from which to draw when I'm serving as your advocate developing national public health policy around organ donation.

Unfortunately, we've seen a long term steady decline in participation on the discussion forums, of volunteers to become Donor Buddies, and on the multiple social media platforms we've expanded to. Unrelated information sources have exploded over the past decade. Perhaps 26 years is enough for this concept? That's how long Michael has kept us afloat, through many challenges and by doing daily maintenance and funding it all himself. Michael will be making his own announcement, but I wanted the folks following the anniversary posts to get the message even if you don't look at other parts of our site.

I'll keep posting news and anniversaries as long as I have a place to do so. Might end up being a personal social media feed, so you may end up having to become my friend or follower to find the content I've been providing. Until then, I urge you to add your anniversary to https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/. Thank you all, and best wishes to you all!

Fifty-ninth anniversary:
Theodore Charles Lombard donated a kidney to his daughter on August 30th, 1967

Forty-sixth anniversary:
Julie Edmonds donated a kidney to her sister, Susan Martin, on August 21st, 1980

Thirty-fourth anniversary:
Patrick M. Emmett donated a kidney to his ex-wife on August 28th, 1992

Thirty-second anniversary:
Donna Luebke donated a kidney to her sister on August 26th, 1994

Twenty-eighth anniversary:
Michael McGhee donated a kidney to his son, Michael, on August 25th, 1998

Twenty-seventh anniversary:
Lisa Weisenberger donated a kidney to her brother, Chad, on August 5th, 1999

Twenty-sixth anniversary:
Rita Kocian (deceased 2/12/04) donated a kidney to her mother in August, 2000
Ellen donated part of her liver to her cousin on August 8th, 2000
Laurie donated part of her liver to her cousin on August 8th, 2000
Walter E Kitter donated a kidney to his friend, Roger Kohlhoff, on August 21st, 2000
Myron Thirtle donated a kidney to his father on August 31st, 2000.  His father survived 10 years until succumbing to cancer in 2010

Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Katherine Coe donated a kidney to a friend on August 8th, 2001

Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Kristin Barnes donated part of her liver to her father on August 29th, 2002

Twenty-third anniversary:
Chuck Swartout donated part of his liver to his stepsister on August 5th, 2003
Julie donated a kidney to her brother on August 20th, 2003
Bruce Dobben donated a kidney to a friend on August 27th, 2003
Kevin Rodgers donated a kidney to a friend on August 29th, 2003

Twenty-second anniversary:
Carolyn Ambrose donated a kidney to her husband on August 4th, 2004
Ana Mora donated a kidney to her cousin on August 7th, 2004
Jennifer Leigh McGuinn donated a kidney to her father on August 10th, 2004
Michele Moeller donated a kidney and bone marrow to an unrelated person she found on LDO! on August 10th, 2004
Alfonso Gaspar became a bone marrow donor to a young child on August 12th, 2004
Jayne Kavanagh donated bone marrow to an internationally matched recipient on August 12th, 2004
Amber D. Murray donated a kidney to her brother on August 17th, 2004

Twenty-first anniversary:
Amber Allen donated a kidney to her cousin on August 9th, 2005
Amber Billings donated a kidney to her cousin on August 10th, 2005
Janet Saulter-Hemmer donated a kidney to her friend, Jim Morgenland, on August 18th, 2005

Twentieth anniversary:
Jennifer donated a kidney to her father on August 1st, 2006
Ruth Spang donated a kidney to her father, James, on August 3rd, 2006
Lana J. James donated a kidney to her cousin on August 30th, 2006

Nineteenth anniversary:
Tammy Pigion donated part of her liver to her son on August 2nd, 2007
Melanie Hubbard donated a kidney to her friend, Dale Nix, on August 10th, 2007
Amy Covert donated a kidney to a friend on August 15th, 2007
Marsha Moran donated a kidney to her spouse, James, on August 15th, 2007
Matthew Lynette donated a kidney to his brother, Andrew, on August 15th, 2007
Katherine Howe donated part of her liver to her husband, David, on August 20th, 2007

Eighteenth anniversary:
Melissa Swanson donated a kidney to a stranger met on LDO on August 5th, 2008
Marybeth Marshall donated a kidney to her brother on August 12th, 2008
John Tran donated part of his liver to his wife, Christine, on August 14th, 2008
Lonnie Howell donated a kidney to a stranger who had become a close friend by the time of donation on August 19th, 2008
Kayla Asher donated a kidney to her cousin, Julie Mitchell, on August 20th, 2008
Dominion Giventer gave part of his liver to his 1 year old nephew on August 29th, 2008

Seventeenth anniversary:
Marian Mamayek donated a kidney to her friend, Sharlene Bender, on August 6th, 2009
Carleen Dickerson donated a kidney to her cousin on August 12th, 2009
Patricia Roussin donated a kidney to Anthony Lopez, an unrelated person, on August 12th, 2009
Rabbi Ephraim Simon donated a kidney to a stranger on August 13th, 2009
Tania Eggleston donated a kidney to her Dad on August 11th, 2009
Lessa Ennis donated a kidney to an unrelated person, Lee Kingery, on August 25th, 2009
Patti Bartlett donated a kidney to her brother, Mark Manwar, on August 26th, 2009

Sixteenth anniversary:
Samantha Perouty donated her left kidney to her uncle on August 2nd, 2010
Stacie Brane donated a kidney to her sister, Kristie Goade, on August 12th, 2010

Fifteenth anniversary:
Avis Lynch donated a kidney to her mother, Winnetta F. Guthrie, on August 10th, 2011
John made a non-directed kidney donation on August 11th, 2011
Rick made a non-directed kidney donation that started an open chain with 17 donor-recipient pairs so far on August 15th, 2011
David Lieu donated a kidney to his twin brother, Michael, on August 23rd, 2011
Jodi Dykstra donated a kidney to her father on August 23rd, 2011
Melinda Stern donated a kidney to her sister, Kristine Brenneman on August 31st, 2011

Fourteenth anniversary:
Cathy May donated a kidney to her friend, Amy Gray Light, on August 16th, 2012
Jennifer Ross made a non-directed kidney donation on August 16th, 2012
Jeannette Myers-Whitney donated a kidney to a stranger on August 23rd, 2012, as a paired donation to benefit her husband, Rod
Kim Merrell made an anonymous, non-directed kidney donation on August 30th, 2012

Thirteenth anniversary:
Margaret Koppelman donated a kidney on August 7th, 2013
Linda donated a kidney to Priscilla's mom, Karen, on August 16th, 2013

Twelfth anniversary:
Joshua Davies donated a kidney anonymously on August 8th, 2014
Corey Zaretsky donated a kidney to his brother, Matthew, on August 14th, 2014

Eleventh anniversary:
Elle Gillum donated part of her liver to her dad, Dean Toney, on August 12th, 2015

Tenth anniversary:
Diana Castillo donated a kidney to her friend, German Alech, on August 31st, 2016

Eighth anniversary:
Danielle DiMartino donated a kidney to a stranger on August 2nd, 2018
Kelly Thoele donated a kidney to Minh Le, the fiancé of a former employee on August 23rd, 2018

Sixth anniversary:
Annette donated a kidney to Hailey, her future daughter-in-law, on August 22, 2020

Third anniversary:
Karen Jones made a non-directed kidney donation on August 16th, 2023

Second anniversary:
Stephanie Lomuscio made a non-directed anonymous liver donation to German Cortez on August 8th, 2024

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

I donated a kidney three months ago. I have been taking self-injections of B12 (hydroxococobalamin) for 25 years. Post transplant three months my B12 dropped significantly and I am now taking the injections every second day for two weeks to boost the B12. Has anyone else experienced a B12 deficiency post transplant? My transplant team tells me it is not related to the transplant but I am not convinced.