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#11
Living Donation in the News / AMA: What doctors wish patient...
Last post by Clark - February 24, 2026, 12:40:50 PMhttps://www.ama-assn.org/public-health/infectious-diseases/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-organ-donation
What doctors wish patients knew about organ donation
One organ donor can save up to eight lives. Veronica Loy, DO, a transplant hepatologist at Rush University System for Health, discusses organ donation.
By
Sara Berg, MS
News Editor
Each year, thousands of people across the U.S. wait for a call that could save their lives. For many, an organ transplant offers the only path forward, yet the need continues to far outpace the number of available donors. This gap not only reflects a growing medical challenge but also underscores persistent misconceptions about who can donate and how the process works.
Currently, more than 100, 000 people in the U.S. are waiting for organ transplants. Of those, more than 60,000 are active waiting list candidates. Meanwhile, the number of transplants performed in the U.S. has increased annually with more than 48,000 organ transplants performed in the U.S. in 2024. In fact, there were more than 7,000 living donor transplants and more than 17,000 decreased donors in 2021. But even with the continued increase in deceased donations, there is still an urgent need for organ donors. One organ donor can save up to eight lives, according to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
....
What doctors wish patients knew about organ donation
One organ donor can save up to eight lives. Veronica Loy, DO, a transplant hepatologist at Rush University System for Health, discusses organ donation.
By
Sara Berg, MS
News Editor
Each year, thousands of people across the U.S. wait for a call that could save their lives. For many, an organ transplant offers the only path forward, yet the need continues to far outpace the number of available donors. This gap not only reflects a growing medical challenge but also underscores persistent misconceptions about who can donate and how the process works.
Currently, more than 100, 000 people in the U.S. are waiting for organ transplants. Of those, more than 60,000 are active waiting list candidates. Meanwhile, the number of transplants performed in the U.S. has increased annually with more than 48,000 organ transplants performed in the U.S. in 2024. In fact, there were more than 7,000 living donor transplants and more than 17,000 decreased donors in 2021. But even with the continued increase in deceased donations, there is still an urgent need for organ donors. One organ donor can save up to eight lives, according to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
....
#12
Living Donation in the News / NYT: Want to Make a Difference...
Last post by Clark - February 24, 2026, 12:37:38 PMhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/opinion/donate-your-kidney.html
OPINION
GERMAN LOPEZ
Want to Make a Difference? Donate Your Kidney.
When I told my mom I wanted to donate one of my kidneys to a stranger, her first response was, "That's a wonderful thing you want to do." Then she suggested that I had perhaps lost my mind and could get myself killed.
...
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/opinion/kidney-donation.html
OPINION
LETTERS
The Many Gifts of Kidney Donation
...
The writer is the president of the American Society of Nephrology...
...
multiple donors and others...
...
OPINION
GERMAN LOPEZ
Want to Make a Difference? Donate Your Kidney.
When I told my mom I wanted to donate one of my kidneys to a stranger, her first response was, "That's a wonderful thing you want to do." Then she suggested that I had perhaps lost my mind and could get myself killed.
...
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/opinion/kidney-donation.html
OPINION
LETTERS
The Many Gifts of Kidney Donation
...
The writer is the president of the American Society of Nephrology...
...
multiple donors and others...
...
#13
Living Donation in the News / ESSAY: Why I decided to be a l...
Last post by Clark - February 16, 2026, 09:18:42 AMhttps://www.qchron.com/editions/south/why-i-decided-to-be-a-living-organ-donor/article_49110adc-0e83-5eb7-9656-40d953fa1fcb.html
ESSAY
Why I decided to be a living organ donor
A few days ago, I walked into Northwell Hospital and prepared myself for surgery to donate a little more than half of my liver to an old friend from Ozone Park. Antonio Blandino has nonalcoholic cirrhosis and, like so many others with this disease, needed a healthy organ donor to live. After months of testing and screening dozens of other would-be donor candidates, it was determined that I was the perfect match.
This is a major surgery, with real risks, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit concerned. This decision came from a simple truth that feels impossible to ignore: If I can help save a life, how could I not try?
...
ESSAY
Why I decided to be a living organ donor
- by Eric Ulrich
A few days ago, I walked into Northwell Hospital and prepared myself for surgery to donate a little more than half of my liver to an old friend from Ozone Park. Antonio Blandino has nonalcoholic cirrhosis and, like so many others with this disease, needed a healthy organ donor to live. After months of testing and screening dozens of other would-be donor candidates, it was determined that I was the perfect match.
This is a major surgery, with real risks, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit concerned. This decision came from a simple truth that feels impossible to ignore: If I can help save a life, how could I not try?
...
#14
Living Donation in the News / Inspiring Action Through Story...
Last post by Clark - February 15, 2026, 04:48:02 PMhttps://www.sunydutchess.edu/about/facts/news/articles/living-donor-learning-symposium.html
Inspiring Action Through Story: DCC Raises Awareness of Living Donation
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — FEB. 2, 2026 — Nothing could have prepared Joia Ponticello for the moment that she learned she would need a kidney transplant.
As a lifelong type 1 diabetic, Ponticello had been through her share of health scares and hospital stays. But a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease was more terrifying than anything she had ever faced.
"It is a moment that steals your breath," Ponticello recalled. "A moment that forces you to imagine futures you never wanted to imagine. A moment that makes you look at your child differently, your spouse differently, your own reflection differently."
Ponticello shared her story during the Living Donor Learning Symposium and Education Fair at Dutchess Community College (DCC) on Feb. 2, an event dedicated to bringing awareness to the gift of living organ donation. The College welcomed representatives from Weill Cornell Medicine, Westchester Medical Center Health to share information on and demystify the process of organ donation and transplantation.
"At DCC, our mission is to provide education that changes lives and this program does exactly that," said DCC Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness Dr. Susan Rogers. "By creating space for learning, conversation and one-on-one connection about the power and impact of living donation, we hope to raise awareness, inspire action and help move us closer to life-saving solutions for the thousands of individuals waiting for a transplant."
DCC Student Trustee Ryan Shook is a living donor who shared his story during the event. At 27 years old, Shook was notified that he was a match for a man in need of a bone marrow transplant – eight years after he submitted a sample during a blood drive.
A patient needed help – a man in England had myelodysplastic syndrome – a disease that affects the bone marrow's ability to create mature blood cells. If left untreated, it can develop into leukemia.
Shook said as a healthy 22-year-old man, he "had no reason to say no" to donating bone marrow, even in spite his fear of needles.
"Growing up, hearing the words injection and IVs used to make my stomach turn. But I kept going," Shook shared during the event. "Because when you know someone's life is tied to your choice, your fear takes a backseat. It stops being about the needle, it starts being about the person."
DCC Board of Trustees Chair and Network Director for WMC's Clinical Care Management Dr. Angela Flesland shared her experience in supporting organ donation recipients during her time working as a nurse. She advocated for increased participation in the organ donor program and for those who elect to become donors to share their wishes with their families.
"Becoming an organ donor is one of the most powerful legacies that you can leave," she said. "It says 'my life matters, and so does yours.' And trust me, one day there will be someone out there praying for the chance that you could give them."
Flesland introduced keynote speaker and DCC alum, Dr. Muath Bishawi. As a cardiothoracic surgeon, Bishawi's expertise is in procedures involving the heart and lungs, and has overseen the transplantation of these organs from deceased donors. He said there is one common thread between all recipients who do well after receiving an organ.
"When they come back to see me, they all have the same question: 'Doc, how do I thank the person who gave me this? How do I give back with this gift?' And my answer is always the same: 'the first thing you can do is just take care of that organ,'" he said, going on to list the different ways they should take care of themselves.
"Taking care of the organ is, in a way, paying gratitude for the person who gave you this incredible gift," Bishawi continued. "Another one is giving back around you in your community. Because at the end of the day, what it is to be human is to give — at even the worst times — but also to give back and to share and strengthen the community around us."
To learn more about becoming a living kidney donor, visit the National Kidney Foundation. To learn more about Ponticello, visit her donor microsite
Inspiring Action Through Story: DCC Raises Awareness of Living Donation
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — FEB. 2, 2026 — Nothing could have prepared Joia Ponticello for the moment that she learned she would need a kidney transplant.
As a lifelong type 1 diabetic, Ponticello had been through her share of health scares and hospital stays. But a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease was more terrifying than anything she had ever faced.
"It is a moment that steals your breath," Ponticello recalled. "A moment that forces you to imagine futures you never wanted to imagine. A moment that makes you look at your child differently, your spouse differently, your own reflection differently."
Ponticello shared her story during the Living Donor Learning Symposium and Education Fair at Dutchess Community College (DCC) on Feb. 2, an event dedicated to bringing awareness to the gift of living organ donation. The College welcomed representatives from Weill Cornell Medicine, Westchester Medical Center Health to share information on and demystify the process of organ donation and transplantation.
"At DCC, our mission is to provide education that changes lives and this program does exactly that," said DCC Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness Dr. Susan Rogers. "By creating space for learning, conversation and one-on-one connection about the power and impact of living donation, we hope to raise awareness, inspire action and help move us closer to life-saving solutions for the thousands of individuals waiting for a transplant."
DCC Student Trustee Ryan Shook is a living donor who shared his story during the event. At 27 years old, Shook was notified that he was a match for a man in need of a bone marrow transplant – eight years after he submitted a sample during a blood drive.
A patient needed help – a man in England had myelodysplastic syndrome – a disease that affects the bone marrow's ability to create mature blood cells. If left untreated, it can develop into leukemia.
Shook said as a healthy 22-year-old man, he "had no reason to say no" to donating bone marrow, even in spite his fear of needles.
"Growing up, hearing the words injection and IVs used to make my stomach turn. But I kept going," Shook shared during the event. "Because when you know someone's life is tied to your choice, your fear takes a backseat. It stops being about the needle, it starts being about the person."
DCC Board of Trustees Chair and Network Director for WMC's Clinical Care Management Dr. Angela Flesland shared her experience in supporting organ donation recipients during her time working as a nurse. She advocated for increased participation in the organ donor program and for those who elect to become donors to share their wishes with their families.
"Becoming an organ donor is one of the most powerful legacies that you can leave," she said. "It says 'my life matters, and so does yours.' And trust me, one day there will be someone out there praying for the chance that you could give them."
Flesland introduced keynote speaker and DCC alum, Dr. Muath Bishawi. As a cardiothoracic surgeon, Bishawi's expertise is in procedures involving the heart and lungs, and has overseen the transplantation of these organs from deceased donors. He said there is one common thread between all recipients who do well after receiving an organ.
"When they come back to see me, they all have the same question: 'Doc, how do I thank the person who gave me this? How do I give back with this gift?' And my answer is always the same: 'the first thing you can do is just take care of that organ,'" he said, going on to list the different ways they should take care of themselves.
"Taking care of the organ is, in a way, paying gratitude for the person who gave you this incredible gift," Bishawi continued. "Another one is giving back around you in your community. Because at the end of the day, what it is to be human is to give — at even the worst times — but also to give back and to share and strengthen the community around us."
To learn more about becoming a living kidney donor, visit the National Kidney Foundation. To learn more about Ponticello, visit her donor microsite
#15
Living Donation in the News / How Not to Waste 11,849 Human ...
Last post by Clark - February 15, 2026, 04:33:03 PMhttps://www.pressreader.com/usa/readers-digest/20260123/282372636020681
How Not to Waste 11,849 Human Organs
...thousands of Americans have removed themselves from donor registries, largely after news reports characterized the organ donation system as no longer safe and effective. Experts call the reports misleading and say the industry is safe, but acknowledge that it has inherent flaws...
How Not to Waste 11,849 Human Organs
...thousands of Americans have removed themselves from donor registries, largely after news reports characterized the organ donation system as no longer safe and effective. Experts call the reports misleading and say the industry is safe, but acknowledge that it has inherent flaws...
#16
Living Donation in the News / Government Accountability Offi...
Last post by Clark - February 15, 2026, 04:00:04 PMhttps://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107434
Organ Transplantation:HHS Action Needed to Improve Lifesaving Program
...
More than 100,000 people waiting for life-saving organs, as of May 2025, depend on the OPTN to manage the system that procures, allocates, and transplants organs for patients in need. However, systemic OPTN issues may impede its ability to do so effectively. HHS, through its OPTN Modernization Initiative and OTAG effort, has taken some actions to begin to address these issues, including entering into assessment contracts to examine OPTN weaknesses, a positive first step to identifying potential solutions to improving the OPTN. However, further action is needed in three areas.
Organ Transplantation:HHS Action Needed to Improve Lifesaving Program
...
More than 100,000 people waiting for life-saving organs, as of May 2025, depend on the OPTN to manage the system that procures, allocates, and transplants organs for patients in need. However, systemic OPTN issues may impede its ability to do so effectively. HHS, through its OPTN Modernization Initiative and OTAG effort, has taken some actions to begin to address these issues, including entering into assessment contracts to examine OPTN weaknesses, a positive first step to identifying potential solutions to improving the OPTN. However, further action is needed in three areas.
· HRSA has not developed detailed plans for the next phase of its OPTN Modernization Initiative, including how it will make reforms to the OPTN to address its identified weaknesses. Developing plans that take into consideration GAO's leading practices for agency reform will better enable HRSA to address OPTN weaknesses that hinder its ability to provide organs to critically ill patients.
· HRSA has not assessed the risks associated with the OPTN contractor providing supplementary services and charging an associated fee to transplant programs. Assessing these risks, and making changes as appropriate, will better position HRSA to ensure it is effectively managing contract risks and overseeing its OPTN contractor. This oversight is especially important given the OPTN contractor's large role in helping ensure that the OPTN is working effectively to provide life-saving organs. It will continue to be important as HRSA moves to a multi-contractor model as part of its OPTN Modernization Initiative.
· HRSA's and CMS's organ transplantation system coordination group, OTAG, lacks specific, actionable steps with milestone completion dates and markers for measuring success of actions taken in its OTAG action plan, despite the requirement to do so per the OTAG charter. The inclusion of specific and actionable steps in the OTAG action plan will better position HRSA and CMS to ensure that OTAG is improving the organ transplantation system through their collaborative efforts.
Without taking these actions, HHS will miss key opportunities to improve the organ transplantation system responsible for providing organs that save the lives of critically ill patients.... #17
Living Donation Forum / Jimmy Carr (UK comedian) on ce...
Last post by Clark - February 15, 2026, 03:36:25 PMRough, explicit comedy, but saying out loud thoughts many of us must have!
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1725146995120897&aggr_v_ids
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1725146995120897&aggr_v_ids
#18
Living Donation Forum / February 2026 Living Organ Don...
Last post by Clark - February 14, 2026, 12:43:19 PMhttps://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/
It's National Donor Day as I write this, and I sincerely hope you're all well and reflecting on our relationship to this recognition for all of us who give of ourselves for others, blood, plasma, platelets, marrow, and organ donors, living and deceased. So many of us again this month, Robin for Keith thirty-four years ago, Jeffrey for his step-father twenty-five years ago, and Stevie for an unknown person two years ago, just a few among us.
February is when we also remember Rita's passing twenty-two years ago now. Rita had donated for her mother twenty-six years ago, and spent the next four years struggling with complications as well as advocating for systemic improvements for the benefit of all of us who've donated since. My motivation to seek my initial service on the board of directors of the Organ Procurement Transplant Network twenty-one years ago as the first official living donor representative was significantly influenced by Rita's issues, actions, and correspondence. Her memory and example remain in mind as I serve agin now. The world, policy, and practice have all changed greatly in the intervening years. Improvement in policy and practice is still possible, appropriate, and needed. The media's incredulity the Jesse Eisenberg would choose to be a non-directed kidney donor is one example of how far we still need to come.
Best wishes all! Happy anniversary and happy national donor day!
Thirty-fourth anniversary:
Robin Neill Payne donated a kidney to her father, Keith, on February 5th, 1992
Thirty-third anniversary:
Christopher B. Walker donated a kidney to his son, Brandon, on February 5th, 1993
Thirty-first anniversary:
Mae Menard donated a kidney to her daughter on February 15th, 1995
Twenty-seventh anniversary:
Pete Whitfield donated a kidney to his brother on February 2nd, 1999
Janet Troiano donated a kidney to her sister on February 17th, 1999
Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Jeffrey Looman donated a kidney to his step-father on February 18th, 2001
Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Chris Mason donated a kidney to his father on February 5th, 2002
Lea King donated a kidney to her mother on February 6th, 2002
Linda Bartalot donated a kidney to her mother on February 15th, 2002
Father Patrick Sullivan donated a kidney to a stranger on February 20th, 2002
Lana Schupbach donated a kidney to her mother on February 20th, 2002
Twenty-third anniversary:
Teddie Anderson was a non-directed kidney donor to Janet Grier on February 10th, 2003
Raoul Gomez, Jr., donated part of his liver to his father on February 27th, 2003
Twenty-second anniversary:
Rita Kocian, a living kidney donor to her mother in August 2000, died on February 12th, 2004
Joyce Trivett donated a kidney to a friend on February 13th, 2004
Darcie Bjorgo donated a kidney to her mother, Judy Bjorgo, on February 23rd, 2004
Chris Dickenson donated a kidney to her sister on February 24th, 2004
James Muscat donated a kidney to his brother-in-law, David Vella, on February 25th, 2004
Twenty-first anniversary:
Jaime L. Smith donated a kidney to her aunt on February 10th, 2005
Iris M. Saltiel donated a kidney to her sister on February 15th, 2005
Steve Natalie donated a kidney to a friend on February 22nd, 2005
Jeffrey Padilla donated a kidney to his brother-in-law on February 25th, 2005
Twentieth anniversary:
Patrick Goldon donated a kidney to his sister on February 2nd, 2006
Linda Shaffer donated a kidney to her father on February 15th, 2006
Shannon Irwin donated a kidney to her father on February 20th, 2006
Corry Rausch donated a kidney to her daughter on February 28th, 2006
Nineteenth anniversary:
Audra Burgess donated a kidney to her sister-in-law on February 15th, 2007
Eighteenth anniversary:
Sue Kosiorek donated part of her liver to her brother on February 5th, 2008
Terry Brown donated a kidney to a friend's husband on February 8th, 2008
Sara Anderson donated a kidney to her Dad on February 14th, 2008
Maureen Corcoran donated a kidney to her cousin, Mary Jane DiPaolo, on February 19th, 2008
Seventeenth anniversary:
Nicole Skelly donated a kidney to her friend, Julie, on February 4th, 2009
Carol Stangel donated a kidney to her daughter, Katie, on February 10th, 2009
Wendy Switzer donated a kidney to her hubby on February 18th, 2009
Sixteenth anniversary:
Stacy Rushton donated a kidney to her husband on February 3rd, 2010
Timothy Joyce donated a kidney to his sister, Mary Bridget Collins, on February, 8th, 2010
Ebony Vallance donated a kidney to her Dad on February 9th, 2010
Sandy Benning donated a kidney on February 10th, 2010
Neal Orsbon donated a kidney to his younger sister on February 12th, 2010
Patricia Childers donated a kidney to her brother-in-law, David Elrod, on February 12th, 2010
Ronda Peterson donated a kidney on February 15th, 2010
Todd Welden donated a kidney to Robbie Moore on February 17th, 2010
Cindy donated a kidney to her brother on February 22nd, 2010
Fifteenth anniversary:
Roger Ernest donated a kidney to his daughter's partner, Gary Bourton, on February 8th, 2011
Fourteenth anniversary:
Luis G. Rivera donated a kidney to his brother, Ruben A. Rivera, on February 17th, 2012
Faith Bryant donated a kidney to Blaze Pagliarini, a stranger, on February 19th, 2012
Julian Cook donated a kidney to a total stranger, Mary Tompkins, on February 20th, 2012
Morgan Bush donated a kidney to her brother, Scott Briggs, on February 21st, 2012
Lauri Passeri donated a kidney to her friend, Kevin Beam, on February 24th, 2012
Bob Minteer donated a kidney to his friend, Jim, on February 28th, 2012
Jennifer MacIntyre made an unrelated kidney donation on February 28th, 2012
Thirteenth anniversary:
Itty Beck donated a kidney to an unknown person on February 12th, 2013
Pauline donated a kidney to her spouse, Ken, on February 13th, 2013
Virginia Compton donated a kidney to her sister-in-law, Pam, on February 18th, 2013
Cori McManemon donated a kidney to Judy Mogel on February 19th, 2013
Mary Beth Wilkinson donated her left kidney to Donald Mark Lindsay, a complete stranger three states away, on February 20th, 2013 in memory of her twin brother who passed away from cancer
Lorie Swanky donated a kidney to her sister, Tammy Swanky, on February 25th, 2013
Twelfth anniversary:
Danny Walker donated a kidney to his brother, Jimmy, on February 4th, 2014
Heather Hunt donated a kidney to her sister, Kristin Hunt Wolff, on February 26th, 2014
Eleventh anniversary:
Phillip Gay donated a kidney to his daughter, Charlotte Archer Gay, on February 17th, 2015
Tenth anniversary:
Kristin Bramblett donate a kidney to her friend, Keith Kozel, on February 19th, 2016
Micki Stanley donated a kidney to his sister, Patricia Kopp, on February 19th, 2016
Pamela Woodward donated a kidney to her spouse, John, on February 25th, 2016
Ninth anniversary:
Marilyn Hulslander donated a kidney to her husband, Ralph, on February 7th, 2017
Sixth anniversary:
Ruth Esteban-Muir was a non-directed bridge donor on February 19th 2020
Second anniversary:
Stevie Von Flue made a non-directed kidney donation on February 27th, 2024
It's National Donor Day as I write this, and I sincerely hope you're all well and reflecting on our relationship to this recognition for all of us who give of ourselves for others, blood, plasma, platelets, marrow, and organ donors, living and deceased. So many of us again this month, Robin for Keith thirty-four years ago, Jeffrey for his step-father twenty-five years ago, and Stevie for an unknown person two years ago, just a few among us.
February is when we also remember Rita's passing twenty-two years ago now. Rita had donated for her mother twenty-six years ago, and spent the next four years struggling with complications as well as advocating for systemic improvements for the benefit of all of us who've donated since. My motivation to seek my initial service on the board of directors of the Organ Procurement Transplant Network twenty-one years ago as the first official living donor representative was significantly influenced by Rita's issues, actions, and correspondence. Her memory and example remain in mind as I serve agin now. The world, policy, and practice have all changed greatly in the intervening years. Improvement in policy and practice is still possible, appropriate, and needed. The media's incredulity the Jesse Eisenberg would choose to be a non-directed kidney donor is one example of how far we still need to come.
Best wishes all! Happy anniversary and happy national donor day!
Thirty-fourth anniversary:
Robin Neill Payne donated a kidney to her father, Keith, on February 5th, 1992
Thirty-third anniversary:
Christopher B. Walker donated a kidney to his son, Brandon, on February 5th, 1993
Thirty-first anniversary:
Mae Menard donated a kidney to her daughter on February 15th, 1995
Twenty-seventh anniversary:
Pete Whitfield donated a kidney to his brother on February 2nd, 1999
Janet Troiano donated a kidney to her sister on February 17th, 1999
Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Jeffrey Looman donated a kidney to his step-father on February 18th, 2001
Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Chris Mason donated a kidney to his father on February 5th, 2002
Lea King donated a kidney to her mother on February 6th, 2002
Linda Bartalot donated a kidney to her mother on February 15th, 2002
Father Patrick Sullivan donated a kidney to a stranger on February 20th, 2002
Lana Schupbach donated a kidney to her mother on February 20th, 2002
Twenty-third anniversary:
Teddie Anderson was a non-directed kidney donor to Janet Grier on February 10th, 2003
Raoul Gomez, Jr., donated part of his liver to his father on February 27th, 2003
Twenty-second anniversary:
Rita Kocian, a living kidney donor to her mother in August 2000, died on February 12th, 2004
Joyce Trivett donated a kidney to a friend on February 13th, 2004
Darcie Bjorgo donated a kidney to her mother, Judy Bjorgo, on February 23rd, 2004
Chris Dickenson donated a kidney to her sister on February 24th, 2004
James Muscat donated a kidney to his brother-in-law, David Vella, on February 25th, 2004
Twenty-first anniversary:
Jaime L. Smith donated a kidney to her aunt on February 10th, 2005
Iris M. Saltiel donated a kidney to her sister on February 15th, 2005
Steve Natalie donated a kidney to a friend on February 22nd, 2005
Jeffrey Padilla donated a kidney to his brother-in-law on February 25th, 2005
Twentieth anniversary:
Patrick Goldon donated a kidney to his sister on February 2nd, 2006
Linda Shaffer donated a kidney to her father on February 15th, 2006
Shannon Irwin donated a kidney to her father on February 20th, 2006
Corry Rausch donated a kidney to her daughter on February 28th, 2006
Nineteenth anniversary:
Audra Burgess donated a kidney to her sister-in-law on February 15th, 2007
Eighteenth anniversary:
Sue Kosiorek donated part of her liver to her brother on February 5th, 2008
Terry Brown donated a kidney to a friend's husband on February 8th, 2008
Sara Anderson donated a kidney to her Dad on February 14th, 2008
Maureen Corcoran donated a kidney to her cousin, Mary Jane DiPaolo, on February 19th, 2008
Seventeenth anniversary:
Nicole Skelly donated a kidney to her friend, Julie, on February 4th, 2009
Carol Stangel donated a kidney to her daughter, Katie, on February 10th, 2009
Wendy Switzer donated a kidney to her hubby on February 18th, 2009
Sixteenth anniversary:
Stacy Rushton donated a kidney to her husband on February 3rd, 2010
Timothy Joyce donated a kidney to his sister, Mary Bridget Collins, on February, 8th, 2010
Ebony Vallance donated a kidney to her Dad on February 9th, 2010
Sandy Benning donated a kidney on February 10th, 2010
Neal Orsbon donated a kidney to his younger sister on February 12th, 2010
Patricia Childers donated a kidney to her brother-in-law, David Elrod, on February 12th, 2010
Ronda Peterson donated a kidney on February 15th, 2010
Todd Welden donated a kidney to Robbie Moore on February 17th, 2010
Cindy donated a kidney to her brother on February 22nd, 2010
Fifteenth anniversary:
Roger Ernest donated a kidney to his daughter's partner, Gary Bourton, on February 8th, 2011
Fourteenth anniversary:
Luis G. Rivera donated a kidney to his brother, Ruben A. Rivera, on February 17th, 2012
Faith Bryant donated a kidney to Blaze Pagliarini, a stranger, on February 19th, 2012
Julian Cook donated a kidney to a total stranger, Mary Tompkins, on February 20th, 2012
Morgan Bush donated a kidney to her brother, Scott Briggs, on February 21st, 2012
Lauri Passeri donated a kidney to her friend, Kevin Beam, on February 24th, 2012
Bob Minteer donated a kidney to his friend, Jim, on February 28th, 2012
Jennifer MacIntyre made an unrelated kidney donation on February 28th, 2012
Thirteenth anniversary:
Itty Beck donated a kidney to an unknown person on February 12th, 2013
Pauline donated a kidney to her spouse, Ken, on February 13th, 2013
Virginia Compton donated a kidney to her sister-in-law, Pam, on February 18th, 2013
Cori McManemon donated a kidney to Judy Mogel on February 19th, 2013
Mary Beth Wilkinson donated her left kidney to Donald Mark Lindsay, a complete stranger three states away, on February 20th, 2013 in memory of her twin brother who passed away from cancer
Lorie Swanky donated a kidney to her sister, Tammy Swanky, on February 25th, 2013
Twelfth anniversary:
Danny Walker donated a kidney to his brother, Jimmy, on February 4th, 2014
Heather Hunt donated a kidney to her sister, Kristin Hunt Wolff, on February 26th, 2014
Eleventh anniversary:
Phillip Gay donated a kidney to his daughter, Charlotte Archer Gay, on February 17th, 2015
Tenth anniversary:
Kristin Bramblett donate a kidney to her friend, Keith Kozel, on February 19th, 2016
Micki Stanley donated a kidney to his sister, Patricia Kopp, on February 19th, 2016
Pamela Woodward donated a kidney to her spouse, John, on February 25th, 2016
Ninth anniversary:
Marilyn Hulslander donated a kidney to her husband, Ralph, on February 7th, 2017
Sixth anniversary:
Ruth Esteban-Muir was a non-directed bridge donor on February 19th 2020
Second anniversary:
Stevie Von Flue made a non-directed kidney donation on February 27th, 2024
#19
Living Donation Forum / Re: Open-source project to imp...
Last post by Michael - January 26, 2026, 12:24:18 PMI don't have any insights into the organ transplant process that would be helpful to your project, but I posted a link to your message on the LDO Facebook page and the LinkedIn group. Hope that helps!
#20
Living Donation Forum / Re: Open-source project to imp...
Last post by NeuroKoder - January 26, 2026, 12:35:30 AMThank you for the thoughtful questions. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify my perspective and intent.
I am not a transplant recipient, donor, or immediate family member of one. My connection to the community comes through professional and operational exposure rather than personal clinical experience. Over time, I have worked closely with healthcare systems and regulated clinical workflows, which has brought me into contact with transplant operations, coordination challenges, and the complexity of waitlist management. While I do not speak from lived transplant experience, I approach this work with respect for the community and an awareness that the stakes are exceptionally high.
The motivation came from observing how much of transplant coordination relies on complex, manual, and often opaque operational processes that sit alongside national systems. While allocation policy and national infrastructure appropriately remain centralized, there is a significant amount of day to day operational work that is handled locally and often with fragmented tools.
I was interested in exploring whether a transparent, auditable, and openly inspectable software model could help make those workflows easier to understand, reason about, and discuss. TransTrack began as a technical and conceptual exercise rather than a product initiative. The goal was to model waitlist state changes, readiness tracking, and audit trails in a way that makes assumptions explicit and workflows visible, not to automate decisions or replace existing systems.
The current shift toward a multi contractor model introduces both uncertainty and opportunity. In that context, I do not view adoption of TransTrack as a replacement for existing systems or as something that should be broadly deployed without careful evaluation. Instead, I see its role, if any, as incremental and collaborative. Potential paths forward would include use as a reference implementation, a training or modeling tool, or a platform for shared discussion about operational workflows rather than as a system of record. Any real world adoption would need to be guided by transplant centers and OPOs themselves, aligned with regulatory oversight, and responsive to the evolving governance structure under HRSA.
I believe the way forward involves transparency, interoperability, and open dialogue. Open source efforts can contribute by allowing the community to examine ideas, question assumptions, and explore alternatives without forcing premature decisions. Whether TransTrack itself is adopted is less important to me than whether it helps stimulate constructive conversation about how operational tools can better support donation and transplantation during a period of change.
I am not a transplant recipient, donor, or immediate family member of one. My connection to the community comes through professional and operational exposure rather than personal clinical experience. Over time, I have worked closely with healthcare systems and regulated clinical workflows, which has brought me into contact with transplant operations, coordination challenges, and the complexity of waitlist management. While I do not speak from lived transplant experience, I approach this work with respect for the community and an awareness that the stakes are exceptionally high.
The motivation came from observing how much of transplant coordination relies on complex, manual, and often opaque operational processes that sit alongside national systems. While allocation policy and national infrastructure appropriately remain centralized, there is a significant amount of day to day operational work that is handled locally and often with fragmented tools.
I was interested in exploring whether a transparent, auditable, and openly inspectable software model could help make those workflows easier to understand, reason about, and discuss. TransTrack began as a technical and conceptual exercise rather than a product initiative. The goal was to model waitlist state changes, readiness tracking, and audit trails in a way that makes assumptions explicit and workflows visible, not to automate decisions or replace existing systems.
The current shift toward a multi contractor model introduces both uncertainty and opportunity. In that context, I do not view adoption of TransTrack as a replacement for existing systems or as something that should be broadly deployed without careful evaluation. Instead, I see its role, if any, as incremental and collaborative. Potential paths forward would include use as a reference implementation, a training or modeling tool, or a platform for shared discussion about operational workflows rather than as a system of record. Any real world adoption would need to be guided by transplant centers and OPOs themselves, aligned with regulatory oversight, and responsive to the evolving governance structure under HRSA.
I believe the way forward involves transparency, interoperability, and open dialogue. Open source efforts can contribute by allowing the community to examine ideas, question assumptions, and explore alternatives without forcing premature decisions. Whether TransTrack itself is adopted is less important to me than whether it helps stimulate constructive conversation about how operational tools can better support donation and transplantation during a period of change.