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#21
Living Donation in the News / Re: Xenotransplantation: Scien...
Last post by Clark - November 12, 2025, 10:00:27 PMhttps://www.renalandurologynews.com/news/could-pig-kidneys-end-the-transplant-shortage-first-u-s-trial-begins/
Could Pig Kidneys End the Transplant Shortage? First U.S. Trial Begins
A first-of-its-kind clinical trial is beginning in the United States to see if pig kidneys could help save the lives of people waiting for a human organ transplant.
United Therapeutics, the company that developed the genetically edited pig kidneys, said Monday that the first transplant in the trial has already taken place at NYU Langone Health.
The patient's identity and surgery date were not released for privacy reasons.
NYU surgeon Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the transplant team, said the hospital already has more patients waiting to join the study.
The trial will begin with six participants and could grow to as many as 50 people if early results are safe and promising.
...
Could Pig Kidneys End the Transplant Shortage? First U.S. Trial Begins
A first-of-its-kind clinical trial is beginning in the United States to see if pig kidneys could help save the lives of people waiting for a human organ transplant.
United Therapeutics, the company that developed the genetically edited pig kidneys, said Monday that the first transplant in the trial has already taken place at NYU Langone Health.
The patient's identity and surgery date were not released for privacy reasons.
NYU surgeon Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the transplant team, said the hospital already has more patients waiting to join the study.
The trial will begin with six participants and could grow to as many as 50 people if early results are safe and promising.
...
#22
Living Donation in the News / Sanofi’s AI-driven campaign bo...
Last post by Clark - November 12, 2025, 09:57:51 PMhttps://adage.com/events-awards/health-care-marketing-impact/aa-sanofi-badge-of-honor-pharmaceutical-gold/
Sanofi's AI-driven campaign boosts living kidney donor applications amid urgent need
By
Joy R. Lee
November 10, 2025 06:00 AM
Sanofi, the global pharmaceutical company, responded to the urgent need for living kidney donation with an unorthodox approach. The "Badge of Honor" campaign, created in partnership with FCB Health New York, an IPG Health Company, focused on the only variable that could shift the outcome—the donor.
...
Sanofi's AI-driven campaign boosts living kidney donor applications amid urgent need
By
Joy R. Lee
November 10, 2025 06:00 AM
Sanofi, the global pharmaceutical company, responded to the urgent need for living kidney donation with an unorthodox approach. The "Badge of Honor" campaign, created in partnership with FCB Health New York, an IPG Health Company, focused on the only variable that could shift the outcome—the donor.
...
#23
Living Donation in the News / Risk for Hydrocelectomy Scrota...
Last post by Clark - November 12, 2025, 09:52:31 PMhttps://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-02257
Risk for Scrotal Surgery After Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD et al
https://doi.org/10.7326/ANNALS-25-02257
Abstract
Background:
A potential long-term complication of living kidney donation in male donors is scrotal swelling on the same side as the nephrectomy, and some undergo surgery to relieve discomfort from the fluid collection. The long-term risk for this outcome attributable to donation is unknown.
Objective:
To evaluate long-term scrotal surgery rates after laparoscopic nephrectomy in male living kidney donors compared with non-donors.
Design:
Population-based cohort study (2002 to 2024). (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06716723)
Setting:
Linked administrative health care databases in Ontario, Canada.
Participants:
898 male living kidney donors who had a laparoscopic nephrectomy were matched in a 1:10 ratio with 8980 male non-donors from the general population. The matching characteristics were age, date of cohort entry, rural residence, income, prior vasectomy, and prior inguinal hernia repair. Participants were followed for a median of 9 years, up to 22 years.
Measurements:
The primary outcome was hospitalization for surgery to address a unilateral scrotal fluid collection.
Results:
Donors and matched non-donors had a median age of 45 years. The rate of scrotal surgery was higher in donors than non-donors (70 of 898 donors [7.8%] vs. 19 of 8980 non-donors [0.2%]; 8.3 vs. 0.2 events per 1000 person-years; hazard ratio, 38.8 [95% CI, 22.1 to 67.9]; P < 0.001). The median time from donation to scrotal surgery was 5.2 years (IQR, 3.3 to 8.4 years); more than 90% of the surgeries were hydrocelectomies and were performed under general anesthesia. Over 20 years, the cumulative incidence was 13.8% in donors versus 0.7% in non-donors.
Limitation:
The precise causal mechanism remains unknown.
Conclusion:
Laparoscopic nephrectomy is associated with a higher risk for subsequent scrotal surgery in male living kidney donors.
Primary Funding Source:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Risk for Scrotal Surgery After Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD et al
https://doi.org/10.7326/ANNALS-25-02257
Abstract
Background:
A potential long-term complication of living kidney donation in male donors is scrotal swelling on the same side as the nephrectomy, and some undergo surgery to relieve discomfort from the fluid collection. The long-term risk for this outcome attributable to donation is unknown.
Objective:
To evaluate long-term scrotal surgery rates after laparoscopic nephrectomy in male living kidney donors compared with non-donors.
Design:
Population-based cohort study (2002 to 2024). (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06716723)
Setting:
Linked administrative health care databases in Ontario, Canada.
Participants:
898 male living kidney donors who had a laparoscopic nephrectomy were matched in a 1:10 ratio with 8980 male non-donors from the general population. The matching characteristics were age, date of cohort entry, rural residence, income, prior vasectomy, and prior inguinal hernia repair. Participants were followed for a median of 9 years, up to 22 years.
Measurements:
The primary outcome was hospitalization for surgery to address a unilateral scrotal fluid collection.
Results:
Donors and matched non-donors had a median age of 45 years. The rate of scrotal surgery was higher in donors than non-donors (70 of 898 donors [7.8%] vs. 19 of 8980 non-donors [0.2%]; 8.3 vs. 0.2 events per 1000 person-years; hazard ratio, 38.8 [95% CI, 22.1 to 67.9]; P < 0.001). The median time from donation to scrotal surgery was 5.2 years (IQR, 3.3 to 8.4 years); more than 90% of the surgeries were hydrocelectomies and were performed under general anesthesia. Over 20 years, the cumulative incidence was 13.8% in donors versus 0.7% in non-donors.
Limitation:
The precise causal mechanism remains unknown.
Conclusion:
Laparoscopic nephrectomy is associated with a higher risk for subsequent scrotal surgery in male living kidney donors.
Primary Funding Source:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
#24
Living Donation in the News / Organ Transplantation in India...
Last post by Clark - November 10, 2025, 07:14:36 PMhttps://journals.lww.com/transplantjournal/fulltext/2025/02000/organ_transplantation_in_india__not_for_the_common.9.aspx
COMMENTARIES
Organ Transplantation in India: NOT for the Common Good
Domínguez-Gil, Beatriz MD, PhD1; Delmonico, Francis L. MD2; Chapman, Jeremy R. MD3
Transplantation 109(2):p 240-242, February 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000005116
India has demonstrated exceptional rates of growth in the number of kidney and liver transplants performed across the country (Figure 1).1 Over the 5 y from 2014 to 2019, India increased the number of transplants performed per annum, by adding approximately the total number of transplants performed in a year in France, Germany, Spain, or Turkey. This growth in capacity involved every aspect of specialized and trained surgical, medical, and nursing human resources, as well as hospital infrastructure in operating theaters and recovery wards. It is worthy of congratulations as a demonstration of the evolving power of this nation. However, with that growth has come a description of Indian organ transplant practices in the global and local media that is at once both alarming and reprehensible.2 The experience of human and organ trafficking in India today is seemingly recurrent and validated.3-5
The field of organ transplantation has evolved very differently across the world under the influence of different national healthcare financing systems. Healthcare is, in most countries, financed by taxation and thus through governmental budgets, in combination with private funds, mostly through contributory health insurance systems (eg, Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, South America, and the United States). But across much of Asia, tertiary healthcare services, such as transplantation, are almost entirely dependent on the private finances of individuals. The impressive growth in Indian organ transplantation has been accomplished in for-profit hospitals, which have expanded Indian transplantation into 807 facilities, mostly associated with the major corporate hospital chains.6 Organ transplantation, in a part of the world where one-fifth of all people live, is thus largely not for the common good, but a treatment available for those with ample monetary resources.
In India, organ transplantation has become of such a high monetary value, that a population of foreign patients also undergo transplantation in that jurisdiction, swept up in the general development of medical tourism. In 2023, the Government of India's Ministry of Home Affairs announced the creation of the Ayush Visa category for foreign nationals, promoting travel for healthcare in India.7 Approximately 2 million patients from 78 countries go to India for all forms of medical care, generating $6 billion for the health industry of India and expected to reach $13 billion by 2026.8 Many transplant patients are thus coming to India from elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Southeast and Central Asia, and Africa with the expectation of receiving medical care. Medical tourism is a badge of excellence and national pride, but transplant tourism and commercialization have seemingly breached India's commitments to the 63rd World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2010, driving "preferential allotment of organs to foreigners" and the repetitive media reports of trafficked poor from neighboring countries as paid living donors.2
NOT ALL TRANSPLANT PROFESSIONALS IN INDIA ARE DRIVEN BY ECONOMIC INTERESTS
There is certainly a variation across the 28 states of India. There are states where all transplants are undertaken by large dedicated public hospitals and are free to the recipient. There are states where courts apparently determine whether living unrelated transplants proceed or not, and there are states where the approval process for unrelated transplants, especially from overseas donors, is seemingly waved through in the name of economic development.
THE SOURCE OF THE LIVING DONORS IN INDIA. WHAT IS THEIR NATIONALITY AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE RECIPIENT?
The reported number of deceased donors per million population in India was 0.67 in 2022; for every deceased organ donor in India, there were 13 living kidney or liver donors.1 The contrast to the equivalent ratios in North America or Europe could not be starker. What remains unknown is whether the organs donated by deceased Indians are preferentially allocated to foreign nationals, as proposed in media reports.2,9 Nor is it visible whether the 13 000 living donors that in 2022 provided a kidney (10 000) or a part of their liver (3000) were of Indian or foreign origin, nor is their relationship to the recipients known. The absence of transparency has enabled a repetitive experience of organ trafficking throughout the Indian Subcontinent of Asia.3-5 Alleged by media report in 2022: over the last 2 decades, for example, dozens of men from villages in Nepal were trafficked for their kidneys, with some duped with false promises of employment in Delhi. Nepal investigative officials told the "NewsHour" report that each new victim led them to the same hospital in Kolkata that has been in the headlines for illegal kidney transplants in the past, but has not been prosecuted despite the buying and selling of organs being illegal in India.
NOTTO SEEKS TO FULFILL THE LAW OF INDIA AND THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE WHA
It is time to support the Indian Government's earnest intent to fulfill the ethical principles they adopted in 2010 at the WHA. A memorandum was widely distributed in Indian transplant circles recently from Dr Anil Kumar, the Director of the National Organ Transplant And Tissue Organization of the Ministry of Health of India that defines the requirement for all centers to fulfill the law of India. The memorandum requires the record and reporting of every organ transplant "whether from a living donor or deceased donor." National Organ Transplant And Tissue Organization has emphatically expressed its concern regarding unethical practices of "commercial dealings in organs involving foreign citizens." The transplant professionals of India must now use this opportunity to cooperate to fulfill the promise and benefit of organ transplantation for the good of the communities of India and in doing so separate the ethical majority from the unethical minority.10,11
Member States of the Assembly have now an opportunity to consider a new Resolution in the 77th WHA in Geneva in May 2024. That resolution: "Increasing Availability, Ethical Access and Oversight of Transplantation of Human Cells, Tissues and Organs" calls for transparency and oversight of practices that should identify the nationality and relationship of the living donor to the organ transplant recipient. These data should be reported annually to the regulatory agency within the jurisdiction that authorizes the center to perform organ transplants.
FOR THE COMMON GOOD
The Transplantation Society, founded nearly 60 y ago, selected a sculpture by Auguste Rodin entitled "the Cathedral," to be its logo. Two right hands symbolize the right hand of an organ donor and the right hand of a recipient, with both needed to achieve a successful transplant. Two people doing extraordinary things to save lives, irrespective of ethnicity, sex, social status, or affluence.
National and international professional societies of transplantation exist to advance science, provide information and education but as well illuminate policies that span all cultures in ethical propriety. The support of India for the WHA Resolution will be a testimony of many right hands for the common good.
REFERENCES
1. 2022 Global Report. Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation. Available at https://www.transplant-observatory.org. Accessed June 2, 2024.
2. Jha V. The Seamy Underbelly of Organ Transplantation in India. Available at https://thewire.in/health/underbelly-organ-transplantation-india. Accessed June 2, 2024.
3. Lovett S, Theint N, Smith N. Revealed: Global private hospital group embroiled in 'cash for kidneys' racket. Avaiable at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/kidney-organ-trafficking-scandal-private-healthcare-india-myanmar/. Accessed June 2, 2024.
4. Warsi Z. In Nepal's 'Kidney Valley,' poverty drives an illegal market for human organs. Available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/in-nepals-kidney-valley-poverty-drives-an-illegal-market-for-human-organs. Accessed June 2, 2024.
5. Lynch C. Nepal villagers duped into selling kidneys and told organ would regrow - now country faces new health crisis. Available at https://news.sky.com/story/nepal-villagers-duped-into-selling-kidneys-and-told-organ-would-regrow-now-country-faces-new-health-crisis-13098662. Accessed June 2, 2024.
6. Thebar S. Panels in hospitals can boost organ donation from deceased. Available at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/panels-in-hospitals-can-boost-organ-donation-from-deceased/articleshow/103340314.cms. Accessed June 2, 2024.
7. Government of India. Introduction of new category of Visa – Ayush Visa. Available at https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/CountryNews/19887_Ayush_Visa.pdf. Accessed June 2, 2024.
8. Medical tourism in India. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India. Accessed June 2, 2024.
9. Dutt A. Centre asks states to monitor, inspect organ transplants involving foreigners. Available at https://indianexpress.com/article/india/centre-asks-states-to-monitor-inspect-organ-transplants-involving-foreigners-9287273/. Accessed June 2, 2024.
10. Shroff S, Gill JS. Bold policy changes are needed to meet the need for organ transplantation in India. Am J Transplant. 2021;21:2933–2936.
11. Kute VB, Meshram HS, Mahillo B, et al. Current status, challenges, and opportunities of organ donation and transplantation in India. Transplantation. 2023;107:1213–1218.
COMMENTARIES
Organ Transplantation in India: NOT for the Common Good
Domínguez-Gil, Beatriz MD, PhD1; Delmonico, Francis L. MD2; Chapman, Jeremy R. MD3
Transplantation 109(2):p 240-242, February 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000005116
India has demonstrated exceptional rates of growth in the number of kidney and liver transplants performed across the country (Figure 1).1 Over the 5 y from 2014 to 2019, India increased the number of transplants performed per annum, by adding approximately the total number of transplants performed in a year in France, Germany, Spain, or Turkey. This growth in capacity involved every aspect of specialized and trained surgical, medical, and nursing human resources, as well as hospital infrastructure in operating theaters and recovery wards. It is worthy of congratulations as a demonstration of the evolving power of this nation. However, with that growth has come a description of Indian organ transplant practices in the global and local media that is at once both alarming and reprehensible.2 The experience of human and organ trafficking in India today is seemingly recurrent and validated.3-5
The field of organ transplantation has evolved very differently across the world under the influence of different national healthcare financing systems. Healthcare is, in most countries, financed by taxation and thus through governmental budgets, in combination with private funds, mostly through contributory health insurance systems (eg, Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, South America, and the United States). But across much of Asia, tertiary healthcare services, such as transplantation, are almost entirely dependent on the private finances of individuals. The impressive growth in Indian organ transplantation has been accomplished in for-profit hospitals, which have expanded Indian transplantation into 807 facilities, mostly associated with the major corporate hospital chains.6 Organ transplantation, in a part of the world where one-fifth of all people live, is thus largely not for the common good, but a treatment available for those with ample monetary resources.
In India, organ transplantation has become of such a high monetary value, that a population of foreign patients also undergo transplantation in that jurisdiction, swept up in the general development of medical tourism. In 2023, the Government of India's Ministry of Home Affairs announced the creation of the Ayush Visa category for foreign nationals, promoting travel for healthcare in India.7 Approximately 2 million patients from 78 countries go to India for all forms of medical care, generating $6 billion for the health industry of India and expected to reach $13 billion by 2026.8 Many transplant patients are thus coming to India from elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Southeast and Central Asia, and Africa with the expectation of receiving medical care. Medical tourism is a badge of excellence and national pride, but transplant tourism and commercialization have seemingly breached India's commitments to the 63rd World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2010, driving "preferential allotment of organs to foreigners" and the repetitive media reports of trafficked poor from neighboring countries as paid living donors.2
NOT ALL TRANSPLANT PROFESSIONALS IN INDIA ARE DRIVEN BY ECONOMIC INTERESTS
There is certainly a variation across the 28 states of India. There are states where all transplants are undertaken by large dedicated public hospitals and are free to the recipient. There are states where courts apparently determine whether living unrelated transplants proceed or not, and there are states where the approval process for unrelated transplants, especially from overseas donors, is seemingly waved through in the name of economic development.
THE SOURCE OF THE LIVING DONORS IN INDIA. WHAT IS THEIR NATIONALITY AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE RECIPIENT?
The reported number of deceased donors per million population in India was 0.67 in 2022; for every deceased organ donor in India, there were 13 living kidney or liver donors.1 The contrast to the equivalent ratios in North America or Europe could not be starker. What remains unknown is whether the organs donated by deceased Indians are preferentially allocated to foreign nationals, as proposed in media reports.2,9 Nor is it visible whether the 13 000 living donors that in 2022 provided a kidney (10 000) or a part of their liver (3000) were of Indian or foreign origin, nor is their relationship to the recipients known. The absence of transparency has enabled a repetitive experience of organ trafficking throughout the Indian Subcontinent of Asia.3-5 Alleged by media report in 2022: over the last 2 decades, for example, dozens of men from villages in Nepal were trafficked for their kidneys, with some duped with false promises of employment in Delhi. Nepal investigative officials told the "NewsHour" report that each new victim led them to the same hospital in Kolkata that has been in the headlines for illegal kidney transplants in the past, but has not been prosecuted despite the buying and selling of organs being illegal in India.
NOTTO SEEKS TO FULFILL THE LAW OF INDIA AND THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE WHA
It is time to support the Indian Government's earnest intent to fulfill the ethical principles they adopted in 2010 at the WHA. A memorandum was widely distributed in Indian transplant circles recently from Dr Anil Kumar, the Director of the National Organ Transplant And Tissue Organization of the Ministry of Health of India that defines the requirement for all centers to fulfill the law of India. The memorandum requires the record and reporting of every organ transplant "whether from a living donor or deceased donor." National Organ Transplant And Tissue Organization has emphatically expressed its concern regarding unethical practices of "commercial dealings in organs involving foreign citizens." The transplant professionals of India must now use this opportunity to cooperate to fulfill the promise and benefit of organ transplantation for the good of the communities of India and in doing so separate the ethical majority from the unethical minority.10,11
Member States of the Assembly have now an opportunity to consider a new Resolution in the 77th WHA in Geneva in May 2024. That resolution: "Increasing Availability, Ethical Access and Oversight of Transplantation of Human Cells, Tissues and Organs" calls for transparency and oversight of practices that should identify the nationality and relationship of the living donor to the organ transplant recipient. These data should be reported annually to the regulatory agency within the jurisdiction that authorizes the center to perform organ transplants.
FOR THE COMMON GOOD
The Transplantation Society, founded nearly 60 y ago, selected a sculpture by Auguste Rodin entitled "the Cathedral," to be its logo. Two right hands symbolize the right hand of an organ donor and the right hand of a recipient, with both needed to achieve a successful transplant. Two people doing extraordinary things to save lives, irrespective of ethnicity, sex, social status, or affluence.
National and international professional societies of transplantation exist to advance science, provide information and education but as well illuminate policies that span all cultures in ethical propriety. The support of India for the WHA Resolution will be a testimony of many right hands for the common good.
REFERENCES
1. 2022 Global Report. Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation. Available at https://www.transplant-observatory.org. Accessed June 2, 2024.
2. Jha V. The Seamy Underbelly of Organ Transplantation in India. Available at https://thewire.in/health/underbelly-organ-transplantation-india. Accessed June 2, 2024.
3. Lovett S, Theint N, Smith N. Revealed: Global private hospital group embroiled in 'cash for kidneys' racket. Avaiable at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/kidney-organ-trafficking-scandal-private-healthcare-india-myanmar/. Accessed June 2, 2024.
4. Warsi Z. In Nepal's 'Kidney Valley,' poverty drives an illegal market for human organs. Available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/in-nepals-kidney-valley-poverty-drives-an-illegal-market-for-human-organs. Accessed June 2, 2024.
5. Lynch C. Nepal villagers duped into selling kidneys and told organ would regrow - now country faces new health crisis. Available at https://news.sky.com/story/nepal-villagers-duped-into-selling-kidneys-and-told-organ-would-regrow-now-country-faces-new-health-crisis-13098662. Accessed June 2, 2024.
6. Thebar S. Panels in hospitals can boost organ donation from deceased. Available at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/panels-in-hospitals-can-boost-organ-donation-from-deceased/articleshow/103340314.cms. Accessed June 2, 2024.
7. Government of India. Introduction of new category of Visa – Ayush Visa. Available at https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/CountryNews/19887_Ayush_Visa.pdf. Accessed June 2, 2024.
8. Medical tourism in India. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India. Accessed June 2, 2024.
9. Dutt A. Centre asks states to monitor, inspect organ transplants involving foreigners. Available at https://indianexpress.com/article/india/centre-asks-states-to-monitor-inspect-organ-transplants-involving-foreigners-9287273/. Accessed June 2, 2024.
10. Shroff S, Gill JS. Bold policy changes are needed to meet the need for organ transplantation in India. Am J Transplant. 2021;21:2933–2936.
11. Kute VB, Meshram HS, Mahillo B, et al. Current status, challenges, and opportunities of organ donation and transplantation in India. Transplantation. 2023;107:1213–1218.
#25
Living Donation in the News / Trans-Siberian Orchestra suppo...
Last post by Clark - November 07, 2025, 03:50:05 PMhttps://www.wate.com/living-east-tennessee/rock-out-for-a-cause-trans-siberian-orchestra-supports-etkf/amp/
Rock out for a cause: Trans-Siberian Orchestra supports ETKF
[video including living donors]
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The East Tennessee Kidney Foundation is celebrating a lot! On Living East Tennessee, they are sharing a story of a local woman who is a Living Kidney Donor.
To learn more about becoming a kidney donor, you can learn more at https://www.etkidney.org/how-to-become-a-kidney-donor/
Plus, ETKF promoting their newest collaboration where you can Rock Out for a Cause.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is coming to Knoxville with their electrifying holiday show, The Ghosts of Christmas Eve – The Best of TSO & More!
For every ticket sold, $1.00 will be donated to the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation to support local dialysis patients right here in our community.
📅 November 19, 2025
🕖 Show starts at 7:00 PM
Rock out for a cause: Trans-Siberian Orchestra supports ETKF
[video including living donors]
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The East Tennessee Kidney Foundation is celebrating a lot! On Living East Tennessee, they are sharing a story of a local woman who is a Living Kidney Donor.
To learn more about becoming a kidney donor, you can learn more at https://www.etkidney.org/how-to-become-a-kidney-donor/
Plus, ETKF promoting their newest collaboration where you can Rock Out for a Cause.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is coming to Knoxville with their electrifying holiday show, The Ghosts of Christmas Eve – The Best of TSO & More!
For every ticket sold, $1.00 will be donated to the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation to support local dialysis patients right here in our community.
📅 November 19, 2025
🕖 Show starts at 7:00 PM
#26
Living Donation in the News / New Hampshire man still hopefu...
Last post by Clark - November 06, 2025, 03:43:01 PMhttps://www.wmur.com/article/pig-kidney-transplant-tim-andrews-102825/69182377
New Hampshire man still hopeful after transplanted pig kidney removed
Speaking from his Boston hospital bed while receiving dialysis, Tim Andrews of Concord remains hopeful that a human donor will come forward to give him a kidney, less than a week after doctors removed his transplanted pig kidney.
Andrews is only the second person at Mass General Brigham to receive a pig kidney transplant, a procedure that made global headlines earlier this year as doctors hoped to revolutionize transplant medicine.
"It's like a gift from God. It's like, you're kidding me. I'm free. I can feel good and I can be human again," Andrews said.
He lived with the gene-edited pig kidney for a record 271 days. In an exclusive interview with News 9, Andrews said the kidney's function began to decline, prompting doctors to remove it last week.
Doctors at Mass General Brigham called Andrews a "pioneer" and an "inspiration" to kidney failure patients worldwide.
While he was disappointed and emotional about having the kidney removed, Andrews said he understood this outcome was always possible.
"Kind of knew it was going to happen sooner or later. That was part of the deal. And that's part of, with every transplant," he said.
Andrews said the kidney had given him freedom, a chance to breathe, and the ability to enjoy life again. He is now back on the transplant waiting list.
"We're really working hard to get the name out and somebody be my hero so that I don't have to go through this," Andrews said. "Because realistically, and I've told the doctor this, realistically, less than a year, and I won't be here anymore."
About 100,000 people in the United States are on the kidney transplant waiting list. The Living Donor Program at Mass General Hospital allows people to donate a healthy kidney or a portion of their liver to patients in need.
Andrews encourages anyone to consider donating, even if they aren't a match for him.
"We'll get as many kidneys as we can. You don't have to be a match for me. Donate a kidney. There's a person out there that needs a hero. And the more people that do it, the more people will get off this. And we won't even need to pick the pig thing if we got enough people to do it," Andrews said.
New Hampshire man still hopeful after transplanted pig kidney removed
Speaking from his Boston hospital bed while receiving dialysis, Tim Andrews of Concord remains hopeful that a human donor will come forward to give him a kidney, less than a week after doctors removed his transplanted pig kidney.
Andrews is only the second person at Mass General Brigham to receive a pig kidney transplant, a procedure that made global headlines earlier this year as doctors hoped to revolutionize transplant medicine.
"It's like a gift from God. It's like, you're kidding me. I'm free. I can feel good and I can be human again," Andrews said.
He lived with the gene-edited pig kidney for a record 271 days. In an exclusive interview with News 9, Andrews said the kidney's function began to decline, prompting doctors to remove it last week.
Doctors at Mass General Brigham called Andrews a "pioneer" and an "inspiration" to kidney failure patients worldwide.
While he was disappointed and emotional about having the kidney removed, Andrews said he understood this outcome was always possible.
"Kind of knew it was going to happen sooner or later. That was part of the deal. And that's part of, with every transplant," he said.
Andrews said the kidney had given him freedom, a chance to breathe, and the ability to enjoy life again. He is now back on the transplant waiting list.
"We're really working hard to get the name out and somebody be my hero so that I don't have to go through this," Andrews said. "Because realistically, and I've told the doctor this, realistically, less than a year, and I won't be here anymore."
About 100,000 people in the United States are on the kidney transplant waiting list. The Living Donor Program at Mass General Hospital allows people to donate a healthy kidney or a portion of their liver to patients in need.
Andrews encourages anyone to consider donating, even if they aren't a match for him.
"We'll get as many kidneys as we can. You don't have to be a match for me. Donate a kidney. There's a person out there that needs a hero. And the more people that do it, the more people will get off this. And we won't even need to pick the pig thing if we got enough people to do it," Andrews said.
#27
Living Donation in the News / American Liver Foundation’s (A...
Last post by Clark - November 06, 2025, 03:39:44 PMhttps://livingdonornetwork.liverfoundation.org/?_gl=1%2Aa0q4xz%2A_ga%2AMTcwMTkyNTQ2MC4xNzYyNDYxNDQ1%2A_ga_2ZKK0NTX5Y%2AczE3NjI0NjE0NDQkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjI0NjE0NjAkajQ0JGwwJGgw
American Liver Foundation's (ALF) Living Donor Network is the first-ever non-directed liver donor database; it was created to connect individuals who wish to donate part of their liver with transplant centers nationwide to help children and adults in need. The ALF Living Donor Network is a pivotal step in addressing the critical shortage of liver donors in the U.S. It not only increases the donor pool but also offers a lifeline to patients who might otherwise face prolonged wait times on a deceased donor list leading to potential decline in health or even death.
What is a non-directed donor?
Most living donors know the person they would like to donate part of their liver to; this is called directed donation. There is, however, an increasing number of individuals who would like to provide the gift of life to someone in need, whom they do not know. These individuals are known as non-directed donors (NDD), formerly called altruistic donors.
Why is there a need for non-directed donors?
With nearly 9,300 people in the U.S. waiting for a liver transplant right now, the need for living donors is great. Approximately 25% of people on the liver transplant list will die waiting due to lack of available organs. Living donor liver transplant offers a solution. It can help increase the number of living donor liver transplants for U.S. adults and children and eliminate the pediatric liver candidate waitlist.
The ALF Living Donor Network is voluntary and open to anyone who would like to become a non-directed liver donor. Registrants must be 18 years of age or older and reside in the U.S.
American Liver Foundation's (ALF) Living Donor Network is the first-ever non-directed liver donor database; it was created to connect individuals who wish to donate part of their liver with transplant centers nationwide to help children and adults in need. The ALF Living Donor Network is a pivotal step in addressing the critical shortage of liver donors in the U.S. It not only increases the donor pool but also offers a lifeline to patients who might otherwise face prolonged wait times on a deceased donor list leading to potential decline in health or even death.
What is a non-directed donor?
Most living donors know the person they would like to donate part of their liver to; this is called directed donation. There is, however, an increasing number of individuals who would like to provide the gift of life to someone in need, whom they do not know. These individuals are known as non-directed donors (NDD), formerly called altruistic donors.
Why is there a need for non-directed donors?
With nearly 9,300 people in the U.S. waiting for a liver transplant right now, the need for living donors is great. Approximately 25% of people on the liver transplant list will die waiting due to lack of available organs. Living donor liver transplant offers a solution. It can help increase the number of living donor liver transplants for U.S. adults and children and eliminate the pediatric liver candidate waitlist.
The ALF Living Donor Network is voluntary and open to anyone who would like to become a non-directed liver donor. Registrants must be 18 years of age or older and reside in the U.S.
#28
Living Donation in the News / Re: Jesse Eisenberg reveals he...
Last post by Clark - November 06, 2025, 03:14:29 PMhttps://www.comicsands.com/eisenberg-kidney-donation-stranger
Jesse Eisenberg Opens Up About 'No Brainer' Choice To Donate Kidney To Total Stranger
In a recent TODAY appearance, the Now You See Me star explained why he felt moved to do an "altruistic" organ donation, and fans are cheering him on.
American playwright, filmmaker, actor, and now literal lifesaver Jesse Eisenberg is taking his holiday giving to a whole new level. The Now You See Me star revealed on the TODAY show that he's donating one of his kidneys to a total stranger.
The man isn't conjuring a disappearing organ act. He's actually doing it.
Eisenberg, ever the soft-spoken overachiever, dropped the announcement casually on live TV:
"I'm actually donating my kidney in six weeks... I really am."
And no, this isn't a promo stunt for Now You See Me: Now You Don't.
Asked what inspired the decision, the Social Network star replied with peak Eisenberg energy:
"I don't know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I'm doing an altruistic donation mid-December. I'm so excited to do it."
In the U.S., roughly 27,759 kidney transplants were performed in 2024, about a quarter of them from living donors. Eisenberg is now joining that rare and generous club. His kidney, like one of his Now You See Me tricks, will vanish from one person and reappear in another, saving a life in the process.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, an "altruistic donor" gives a kidney to someone they've never met. No family ties, no personal connection—just pure, organ-level kindness. As RWJ Barnabas Health puts it, these are "non-directed" donors who step up for strangers with advanced kidney disease.
Eisenberg explained it in his own words:
"It's essentially risk-free and so needed. I think people will realize that it's a no-brainer if you have the time and the inclination."
While "risk-free" might be a touch of magician's optimism, experts say the odds are overwhelmingly in donors' favor: over 95% recover fully and go on to live everyday, healthy lives with just one kidney. The surgery itself carries about the same risk as any routine laparoscopic procedure—more "disappearing appendix" than death-defying illusion.
He also broke down how the kidney exchange process works, in a way that sounds suspiciously like a jewelry heist diagram:
"Let's say person X needs a kidney in Kansas City, and their child was going to donate, but isn't a match—but somehow I am. That person gets my kidney, and their child still donates to someone else. It's a chain reaction—but it only works if there's an altruistic donor to start it."
Apparently, Eisenberg first considered donating a decade ago, but the organization he contacted never responded. Could you imagine ghosting Zack Snyder's Lex Luthor of all people?
This time, a doctor friend pointed him toward NYU Langone Health in New York City. After a few tests, the magician-slash-humanitarian was cleared for surgery in mid-December.
He also wanted to clarify a common concern: what if a family member needs a kidney later?
According to Eisenberg, that's covered thanks to the National Kidney Registry's family voucher program:
"The way it works now is you can put a list of whoever you'd like to be first at the top of the list. So it's risk-free for my family as well."
You can view the interview clip here:
Eisenberg credited his wife, Anna Strout, a teacher and longtime charity worker, for inspiring his sense of activism. Her late mother ran a domestic violence shelter, which the couple continues to support.
Of course, Eisenberg, being Eisenberg, couldn't resist adding a self-deprecating quip about his ongoing blood donations:
"I just have so much blood in me, and I feel like I should spill it. I really like doing it, and I don't know why."
Between blood drives, altruistic kidney surgery, and fatherhood, Eisenberg's pulling off the ultimate vanishing act—ego, gone; empathy, revealed.
And naturally, the internet pulled a rabbit out of that hat, transforming Eisenberg's generosity into a viral act of modern magic.
Jesse Eisenberg Opens Up About 'No Brainer' Choice To Donate Kidney To Total Stranger
In a recent TODAY appearance, the Now You See Me star explained why he felt moved to do an "altruistic" organ donation, and fans are cheering him on.
American playwright, filmmaker, actor, and now literal lifesaver Jesse Eisenberg is taking his holiday giving to a whole new level. The Now You See Me star revealed on the TODAY show that he's donating one of his kidneys to a total stranger.
The man isn't conjuring a disappearing organ act. He's actually doing it.
Eisenberg, ever the soft-spoken overachiever, dropped the announcement casually on live TV:
"I'm actually donating my kidney in six weeks... I really am."
And no, this isn't a promo stunt for Now You See Me: Now You Don't.
Asked what inspired the decision, the Social Network star replied with peak Eisenberg energy:
"I don't know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I'm doing an altruistic donation mid-December. I'm so excited to do it."
In the U.S., roughly 27,759 kidney transplants were performed in 2024, about a quarter of them from living donors. Eisenberg is now joining that rare and generous club. His kidney, like one of his Now You See Me tricks, will vanish from one person and reappear in another, saving a life in the process.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, an "altruistic donor" gives a kidney to someone they've never met. No family ties, no personal connection—just pure, organ-level kindness. As RWJ Barnabas Health puts it, these are "non-directed" donors who step up for strangers with advanced kidney disease.
Eisenberg explained it in his own words:
"It's essentially risk-free and so needed. I think people will realize that it's a no-brainer if you have the time and the inclination."
While "risk-free" might be a touch of magician's optimism, experts say the odds are overwhelmingly in donors' favor: over 95% recover fully and go on to live everyday, healthy lives with just one kidney. The surgery itself carries about the same risk as any routine laparoscopic procedure—more "disappearing appendix" than death-defying illusion.
He also broke down how the kidney exchange process works, in a way that sounds suspiciously like a jewelry heist diagram:
"Let's say person X needs a kidney in Kansas City, and their child was going to donate, but isn't a match—but somehow I am. That person gets my kidney, and their child still donates to someone else. It's a chain reaction—but it only works if there's an altruistic donor to start it."
Apparently, Eisenberg first considered donating a decade ago, but the organization he contacted never responded. Could you imagine ghosting Zack Snyder's Lex Luthor of all people?
This time, a doctor friend pointed him toward NYU Langone Health in New York City. After a few tests, the magician-slash-humanitarian was cleared for surgery in mid-December.
He also wanted to clarify a common concern: what if a family member needs a kidney later?
According to Eisenberg, that's covered thanks to the National Kidney Registry's family voucher program:
"The way it works now is you can put a list of whoever you'd like to be first at the top of the list. So it's risk-free for my family as well."
You can view the interview clip here:
Eisenberg credited his wife, Anna Strout, a teacher and longtime charity worker, for inspiring his sense of activism. Her late mother ran a domestic violence shelter, which the couple continues to support.
Of course, Eisenberg, being Eisenberg, couldn't resist adding a self-deprecating quip about his ongoing blood donations:
"I just have so much blood in me, and I feel like I should spill it. I really like doing it, and I don't know why."
Between blood drives, altruistic kidney surgery, and fatherhood, Eisenberg's pulling off the ultimate vanishing act—ego, gone; empathy, revealed.
And naturally, the internet pulled a rabbit out of that hat, transforming Eisenberg's generosity into a viral act of modern magic.
#29
Living Donation in the News / Re: Xenotransplantation: Scien...
Last post by Clark - November 06, 2025, 03:07:23 PMhttps://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2025-11-05/could-pig-kidneys-end-the-transplant-shortage-first-u-s-trial-begins
Could Pig Kidneys End the Transplant Shortage? First U.S. Trial Begins
A first-of-its-kind clinical trial is beginning in the United States to see if pig kidneys could help save the lives of people waiting for a human organ transplant.
United Therapeutics, the company that developed the genetically edited pig kidneys, said Monday that the first transplant in the trial has already taken place at NYU Langone Health.
The patient's identity and surgery date were not released for privacy reasons.
NYU surgeon Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the transplant team, said the hospital already has more patients waiting to join the study.
The trial will begin with six participants and could grow to as many as 50 people if early results are safe and promising.
More than 100,000 Americans are on the national transplant waitlist, most of them needing a kidney.
Thousands die each year because not enough donor organs are available. That's why scientists are now exploring xenotransplantation — or transplanting animal organs into humans — as a possible solution.
Earlier "compassionate use" procedures showed mixed results. One woman lived 130 days with a pig kidney before needing dialysis again, and a man in New Hampshire lived 271 days before his pig kidney began to fail and was removed.
A few additional patients in the U.S. and China are living with pig kidneys as of today.
"This thing is moving in the right direction," Montgomery told The Associated Press, adding that because patients can return to dialysis if needed, the procedure has a built-in safety net.
The pig kidneys being tested in this study have 10 genetic edits. The edits remove pig genes that cause organ rejection and add human genes that may help the body accept the transplant.
Another company, eGenesis, is also starting a similar clinical trial soon.
More information
The United Network for Organ Sharing has more on xenotransplantation.
Could Pig Kidneys End the Transplant Shortage? First U.S. Trial Begins
A first-of-its-kind clinical trial is beginning in the United States to see if pig kidneys could help save the lives of people waiting for a human organ transplant.
United Therapeutics, the company that developed the genetically edited pig kidneys, said Monday that the first transplant in the trial has already taken place at NYU Langone Health.
The patient's identity and surgery date were not released for privacy reasons.
NYU surgeon Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the transplant team, said the hospital already has more patients waiting to join the study.
The trial will begin with six participants and could grow to as many as 50 people if early results are safe and promising.
More than 100,000 Americans are on the national transplant waitlist, most of them needing a kidney.
Thousands die each year because not enough donor organs are available. That's why scientists are now exploring xenotransplantation — or transplanting animal organs into humans — as a possible solution.
Earlier "compassionate use" procedures showed mixed results. One woman lived 130 days with a pig kidney before needing dialysis again, and a man in New Hampshire lived 271 days before his pig kidney began to fail and was removed.
A few additional patients in the U.S. and China are living with pig kidneys as of today.
"This thing is moving in the right direction," Montgomery told The Associated Press, adding that because patients can return to dialysis if needed, the procedure has a built-in safety net.
The pig kidneys being tested in this study have 10 genetic edits. The edits remove pig genes that cause organ rejection and add human genes that may help the body accept the transplant.
Another company, eGenesis, is also starting a similar clinical trial soon.
More information
The United Network for Organ Sharing has more on xenotransplantation.
#30
Living Donation Forum / November 2025 Living Donor Ann...
Last post by Clark - November 06, 2025, 02:52:45 PMOur calendar is at https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/ Add yours!
Whether you're reciting a poem as a memory aid for the English Gunpowder Plot, or humming along about the storms of November coming early, or you're reading here to wonder again about the courage, hope, sometime tragedy, and the ways our setting foot on the path to donation marked an significant turning point in out lives, our families, and our careers. May your heart be eased if you're grieving, may you find relief if you're in pain, and if you're celebrating life and joy, may it be redoubled again and again for being shared with peers and friends. Best wishes, all!
US National Donor Sabbath
Sunday, November 16
Every 12 months on the third Sunday
https://www.organdonor.gov/professionals/outreach-materials/donor-sabbath-digital-english
Fifty-second anniversary:
Mara McRae donated a kidney to her sister, Clair, on November 28th, 1973
Forty-ninth anniversary:
Susan Inoue donated a kidney to her brother, Stephen, on November 4th, 1976
Forty-second anniversary:
Fr. Gerry Pehler O.F.M.Cap. donated a kidney to his brother Nov. 15th, 1983. Both were present at the 2010 Transplant Games in Wisconsin, where the recipient competed as an athlete for Team Wisconsin, with wife and daughter cheering him on.
Fortieth anniversary:
Mike Hogan donated a kidney to his brother, Kevin, on November 8th, 1985
Thirty-sixth anniversary:
Lynne donated a kidney to her stepsister, Michelle, on November 20th, 1989
Teresa A. Smith donated part of her liver to her 21-month-old daughter, Alyssa on November 25th, 1989. She is the first living liver donor in the US.
Thirty-fourth anniversary:
Michael Murphy, founder of LDO!, donated a kidney to his sister on November 20th, 1991
Thirty-second and seventeenth anniversaries:
Carlos G. Ramirez donated a kidney to his beautiful mother, Luisa Maria Ramirez, on November 30th, 1993. She passed away on July 18th, 2008.
Thirty-first anniversary:
Mary Sue Owen donated a kidney to her daughter, Rachel Miller, on November 23rd, 1994
Twenty-eighth anniversary:
Johanna Young donated a kidney to her father, Niels Johnson, on November 13th, 1997
Twenty-sixth anniversary:
John C. Fama donated a kidney to his brother-in-law in November, 1999
Jamie Smith donated a kidney to her father, Raymond Marsh, on November 15th, 1999, his second transplant. Though he died 4 years later, at age 48, Jamie "would do it again in a heartbeat."
Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Patricia Roche donated a kidney to her father on November 1st, 2000
Daniel donated a kidney to his wife on November 8th, 2000
Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Kristin Mulhall donated a kidney to her father on November 13th, 2001
Jean Carolyn Belk donated a kidney to her husband on November 19th, 2001
Shaun R. Diamond donated a kidney to his son, Kelly, on November 28th, 2001
Twenty-third anniversary:
Caroline Hutchison Farrell donated a kidney to her sister, Kathryn C Hutchison, on November 15th, 2002
Vic donated a kidney to his stepdaughter on November 22nd, 2002
Ruthellen Frey donated a kidney to her sister on November 26th, 2002
Twenty-second anniversary:
Kathleen donated a kidney to a friend on November 19th, 2003
Aimee donated a kidney to a friend on November 21st, 2003
Julie Anna Gowan donated part of her liver to her daughter on November 25th, 2003
Janet donated a kidney to her adopted brother on November 26th, 2003
Twenty-first anniversary:
Doreen Valero donated a kidney to her brother on November 11th, 2004
Rhonda Smith donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 16th, 2004
Eileen Rooney donated a kidney to a stranger on November 17th, 2004
Pam Benson donated a kidney to her friend, Anna Nichols, on November 18th, 2004
Michael Sullivan donated a kidney to his mother on November 22nd, 2004
Lin Painter donated a kidney to her sister, Maureen Fry, on November 23rd 2004
Terry Manley donated a kidney to her husband on November 24th, 2004
Jodi McKinley donated a kidney to Gerrit Heijnen on November 30th, 2004
Twentieth anniversary:
Wende Shurin donated a kidney to her father, Frank Bianco, on November 10th, 2005
Brad McCooey donated a kidney to his brother on November 16th, 2005
Karen Kuzsel donated a kidney to her daughter on November 16th, 2005
Nancy Conley donated part of her liver to a stranger on November 16th, 2005
Trysha Galloway donated 60% of her liver to her father on November 16th, 2005
Nineteenth anniversary:
Maria Hannah Azul donated a kidney to her best friend, Marimel Lamsin, on November 3rd, 2006
Pam Garrett donated a kidney to Mason Steinmark on November 9th, 2006
Eddie Sloan donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 14th, 2006
Elizabeth Morgan donated a kidney to her father on November 21th, 2006
Amanda West donated a kidney to her father on November 23rd, 2006
Kimberly Weathers donated her left kidney to her nephew, Jeffery Weathers, on November 26th, 2006
Eighteenth anniversary:
Lori McDaniel donated a kidney to her mother on November 1st, 2007
Allison Slater donated a kidney to her mother, Sharon, on November 5th, 2007
Tracy Deitz donated a kidney to a friend on November 6th, 2007
Mike Terry donated a kidney to a friend on November 11th, 2007
Sherri Bauman donated a kidney to her brother on November 12th, 2007
Dawn Porreca Antaya donated part of her liver to her brother, Anthony Porreca, on November 19th, 2007
Justine Graham donated a kidney to her stepfather, Kevin Fazakarley, on November 20th, 2007
Tom donated a kidney on November 27th, 2007
Seventeenth anniversary:
Desiree Germick donated part of her liver to her mother, Judith, on November 5th, 2008
Stephanie Woolfolk donated a kidney to her aunt on November 13th, 2008
William Freeman made a non-directed kidney donation on November 24th, 2008
Sixteenth anniversary:
Angela Gibson became a non-directed kidney donor on November 9th, 2009
Fr. Mark Seitz donated a kidney to a parishioner on November 10th, 2009
Fifteenth anniversary:
Kamillah donated a kidney to her mother on November 1st, 2010
Liz LaPoint donated a kidney to a friend of a friend, Ken Thomas, on November 9th, 2010
Nicole Haggiag donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 18th, 2010
Fourteenth anniversary:
Sangita Nandan donated a kidney to her sister, Malti Chandra, on November 1st, 2011
Millie Griffey-Bryson donated a kidney to her niece on November 3rd, 2011
Jill Fetzer donated a kidney to her cousin, Laura Blanchard, on November 4th, 2011
Erin Fili donated a kidney to her step father, Gabriel Yuil, on November 8th, 2011
Larry Snyder donated a kidney to his Dad on November 11th, 2011
Casey A. Carlson donated a kidney to his sister, Kristy, on November 16th, 2011
Jim Russell donated a kidney to his uncle on November 16th, 2011
Amanda donated a kidney to her aunt on November 18th, 2011
Thirteenth anniversary:
Dena Lawson donated a kidney to Bob Rodgers, an unrelated person, on November 9th, 2012
Roger donated a kidney to a stranger through paired exchange on behalf of his wife, Liz, on November 13th, 2012
Jamie Wynn donated a kidney to her Dad, James "Rocky" Peterson, on November 15th, 2012
Paige Ovick donated a kidney to her son, Damien Klemz, on November 24th, 2012
Twelfth anniversary:
Jackie Murray Taylor donated a kidney to her sister in law on November 6th, 2013
Lillian Poli donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 13th, 2013
Valerie Brown donated a kidney to Christine Curti, unrelated, on November 13th, 2013
Nosheen Athar Abro donated part of her liver to her friend, Muhammad Naveed Anwar, on November 18th, 2013
Maria Gonzalez donated a kidney to her nephew, Daniel Foster, on November 19th, 2013
Jesse Holzhauer donated a kidney to his 2nd cousin, Danny Lancelot, on November 25th, 2013
Eleventh anniversary:
Peggy donated her left kidney to her husband Ryan on November 17th, 2014
Tenth anniversary:
Elizabeth Meyer donated a kidney to Mary Raines via Matching Donors on November 4th, 2015
Josette Garcia donated a kidney to her spouse, Theresa Madrid, on November 12 2015
Fifth anniversary:
Jeannie Cordaro donated a kidney to a family friend, Trey Powell, on November 12th, 2020
Second anniversary:
Cara Bernard donated a kidney to a person she hadn't met as of March 2024 on November 7th, 2023
Whether you're reciting a poem as a memory aid for the English Gunpowder Plot, or humming along about the storms of November coming early, or you're reading here to wonder again about the courage, hope, sometime tragedy, and the ways our setting foot on the path to donation marked an significant turning point in out lives, our families, and our careers. May your heart be eased if you're grieving, may you find relief if you're in pain, and if you're celebrating life and joy, may it be redoubled again and again for being shared with peers and friends. Best wishes, all!
US National Donor Sabbath
Sunday, November 16
Every 12 months on the third Sunday
https://www.organdonor.gov/professionals/outreach-materials/donor-sabbath-digital-english
Fifty-second anniversary:
Mara McRae donated a kidney to her sister, Clair, on November 28th, 1973
Forty-ninth anniversary:
Susan Inoue donated a kidney to her brother, Stephen, on November 4th, 1976
Forty-second anniversary:
Fr. Gerry Pehler O.F.M.Cap. donated a kidney to his brother Nov. 15th, 1983. Both were present at the 2010 Transplant Games in Wisconsin, where the recipient competed as an athlete for Team Wisconsin, with wife and daughter cheering him on.
Fortieth anniversary:
Mike Hogan donated a kidney to his brother, Kevin, on November 8th, 1985
Thirty-sixth anniversary:
Lynne donated a kidney to her stepsister, Michelle, on November 20th, 1989
Teresa A. Smith donated part of her liver to her 21-month-old daughter, Alyssa on November 25th, 1989. She is the first living liver donor in the US.
Thirty-fourth anniversary:
Michael Murphy, founder of LDO!, donated a kidney to his sister on November 20th, 1991
Thirty-second and seventeenth anniversaries:
Carlos G. Ramirez donated a kidney to his beautiful mother, Luisa Maria Ramirez, on November 30th, 1993. She passed away on July 18th, 2008.
Thirty-first anniversary:
Mary Sue Owen donated a kidney to her daughter, Rachel Miller, on November 23rd, 1994
Twenty-eighth anniversary:
Johanna Young donated a kidney to her father, Niels Johnson, on November 13th, 1997
Twenty-sixth anniversary:
John C. Fama donated a kidney to his brother-in-law in November, 1999
Jamie Smith donated a kidney to her father, Raymond Marsh, on November 15th, 1999, his second transplant. Though he died 4 years later, at age 48, Jamie "would do it again in a heartbeat."
Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Patricia Roche donated a kidney to her father on November 1st, 2000
Daniel donated a kidney to his wife on November 8th, 2000
Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Kristin Mulhall donated a kidney to her father on November 13th, 2001
Jean Carolyn Belk donated a kidney to her husband on November 19th, 2001
Shaun R. Diamond donated a kidney to his son, Kelly, on November 28th, 2001
Twenty-third anniversary:
Caroline Hutchison Farrell donated a kidney to her sister, Kathryn C Hutchison, on November 15th, 2002
Vic donated a kidney to his stepdaughter on November 22nd, 2002
Ruthellen Frey donated a kidney to her sister on November 26th, 2002
Twenty-second anniversary:
Kathleen donated a kidney to a friend on November 19th, 2003
Aimee donated a kidney to a friend on November 21st, 2003
Julie Anna Gowan donated part of her liver to her daughter on November 25th, 2003
Janet donated a kidney to her adopted brother on November 26th, 2003
Twenty-first anniversary:
Doreen Valero donated a kidney to her brother on November 11th, 2004
Rhonda Smith donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 16th, 2004
Eileen Rooney donated a kidney to a stranger on November 17th, 2004
Pam Benson donated a kidney to her friend, Anna Nichols, on November 18th, 2004
Michael Sullivan donated a kidney to his mother on November 22nd, 2004
Lin Painter donated a kidney to her sister, Maureen Fry, on November 23rd 2004
Terry Manley donated a kidney to her husband on November 24th, 2004
Jodi McKinley donated a kidney to Gerrit Heijnen on November 30th, 2004
Twentieth anniversary:
Wende Shurin donated a kidney to her father, Frank Bianco, on November 10th, 2005
Brad McCooey donated a kidney to his brother on November 16th, 2005
Karen Kuzsel donated a kidney to her daughter on November 16th, 2005
Nancy Conley donated part of her liver to a stranger on November 16th, 2005
Trysha Galloway donated 60% of her liver to her father on November 16th, 2005
Nineteenth anniversary:
Maria Hannah Azul donated a kidney to her best friend, Marimel Lamsin, on November 3rd, 2006
Pam Garrett donated a kidney to Mason Steinmark on November 9th, 2006
Eddie Sloan donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 14th, 2006
Elizabeth Morgan donated a kidney to her father on November 21th, 2006
Amanda West donated a kidney to her father on November 23rd, 2006
Kimberly Weathers donated her left kidney to her nephew, Jeffery Weathers, on November 26th, 2006
Eighteenth anniversary:
Lori McDaniel donated a kidney to her mother on November 1st, 2007
Allison Slater donated a kidney to her mother, Sharon, on November 5th, 2007
Tracy Deitz donated a kidney to a friend on November 6th, 2007
Mike Terry donated a kidney to a friend on November 11th, 2007
Sherri Bauman donated a kidney to her brother on November 12th, 2007
Dawn Porreca Antaya donated part of her liver to her brother, Anthony Porreca, on November 19th, 2007
Justine Graham donated a kidney to her stepfather, Kevin Fazakarley, on November 20th, 2007
Tom donated a kidney on November 27th, 2007
Seventeenth anniversary:
Desiree Germick donated part of her liver to her mother, Judith, on November 5th, 2008
Stephanie Woolfolk donated a kidney to her aunt on November 13th, 2008
William Freeman made a non-directed kidney donation on November 24th, 2008
Sixteenth anniversary:
Angela Gibson became a non-directed kidney donor on November 9th, 2009
Fr. Mark Seitz donated a kidney to a parishioner on November 10th, 2009
Fifteenth anniversary:
Kamillah donated a kidney to her mother on November 1st, 2010
Liz LaPoint donated a kidney to a friend of a friend, Ken Thomas, on November 9th, 2010
Nicole Haggiag donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 18th, 2010
Fourteenth anniversary:
Sangita Nandan donated a kidney to her sister, Malti Chandra, on November 1st, 2011
Millie Griffey-Bryson donated a kidney to her niece on November 3rd, 2011
Jill Fetzer donated a kidney to her cousin, Laura Blanchard, on November 4th, 2011
Erin Fili donated a kidney to her step father, Gabriel Yuil, on November 8th, 2011
Larry Snyder donated a kidney to his Dad on November 11th, 2011
Casey A. Carlson donated a kidney to his sister, Kristy, on November 16th, 2011
Jim Russell donated a kidney to his uncle on November 16th, 2011
Amanda donated a kidney to her aunt on November 18th, 2011
Thirteenth anniversary:
Dena Lawson donated a kidney to Bob Rodgers, an unrelated person, on November 9th, 2012
Roger donated a kidney to a stranger through paired exchange on behalf of his wife, Liz, on November 13th, 2012
Jamie Wynn donated a kidney to her Dad, James "Rocky" Peterson, on November 15th, 2012
Paige Ovick donated a kidney to her son, Damien Klemz, on November 24th, 2012
Twelfth anniversary:
Jackie Murray Taylor donated a kidney to her sister in law on November 6th, 2013
Lillian Poli donated a kidney to an unrelated person on November 13th, 2013
Valerie Brown donated a kidney to Christine Curti, unrelated, on November 13th, 2013
Nosheen Athar Abro donated part of her liver to her friend, Muhammad Naveed Anwar, on November 18th, 2013
Maria Gonzalez donated a kidney to her nephew, Daniel Foster, on November 19th, 2013
Jesse Holzhauer donated a kidney to his 2nd cousin, Danny Lancelot, on November 25th, 2013
Eleventh anniversary:
Peggy donated her left kidney to her husband Ryan on November 17th, 2014
Tenth anniversary:
Elizabeth Meyer donated a kidney to Mary Raines via Matching Donors on November 4th, 2015
Josette Garcia donated a kidney to her spouse, Theresa Madrid, on November 12 2015
Fifth anniversary:
Jeannie Cordaro donated a kidney to a family friend, Trey Powell, on November 12th, 2020
Second anniversary:
Cara Bernard donated a kidney to a person she hadn't met as of March 2024 on November 7th, 2023