Real stories about what is possible when you #SayYES.
College Friends Share a Liver, Return to US Transplant Games of America
Matt and Patrick were college friends. They shared a soccer team, a fraternity and a room. Now, they also share a liver. “About six years ago, I opened an email and it was a friend saying ‘Hey, did you hear about Matt?’” said Patrick Kacani. “I read back through the email chain and saw he…
35 Day Challenge Honors Richmond Donor
Andrew Luna was an advocate for organ donation even before he died. In life, he experienced firsthand how an organ transplant impacts a family. Upon his death, he gave his own organs. And now, six months after his death, his friends are signing up organ donors in his name to commemorate what would have been…
Miracle Milestone: Gloucester 5-year-old graduates with a ‘special heart’
Preschool graduation is always a milestone, but for Brody Martin, it’s also a miracle. The 5-year-old almost didn’t live to see his first birthday but thanks to an angel and a heart transplant, he is now experiencing childhood like every other kid in his class. Brody’s mom, Lauren Martin, said it happened out of the…
Inspired by son’s transplant, Richmond mom signs up as anonymous living donor
After her son’s heart transplant, Ashleigh Jordan wanted to do something to honor his donor and the thousands of other strangers who give the gift of life. After some thought, she decided to give the gift herself, signing up to become a living kidney donor. “I thought about releasing balloons or doing a fundraiser but…
I love you with all my liver
At 18, Rutger Scott is a budding filmmaker and actor who just graduated from Kettle Run High School in Warrenton and is headed to New York University to study acting. He’s on the precipice of a new chapter of his life; one where he’ll start becoming the man and the artist he wants to be.…
Virginia Beach daughter gives dad gift of life
Kaleigh Hennig had to wait four years to save her dad’s life. After she finally was allowed to give him a kidney, she got a scar, a healthy father, a new friend, a new job and a fiance. It started suddenly in 2012 when Kaleigh was 18. She had just finished high school and was…
The Fight and the Swap
At the age of 51, Retired Master Sergeant Douglas “DJ” Jordan already knew he needed a liver transplant. He just hadn’t told his family.He’d shared the news with a close network of friends and colleagues, but he hadn’t told his family. “I didn’t want them to worry,” he said. “But I had everything planned. I…
Alexandria mom and gold medalist returns to the US Transplant Games
Three years ago, as Mother’s Day approached, Lea Dozier was having trouble just getting through the day. At 36, the mother of two had failing kidneys so she spent four hours a day, three days a week in dialysis, in between her days at work. “It was tough for my children, seeing their mommy going…
A recovery nurse in recovery
As a post-anesthesia nurse, Laure Jean-Richard has helped her fair share of transplant recipients recover. And for years, she knew that some day, she’d be on the table herself. Laure was diagnosed with lupus at age 26, and her medical experience made her fully aware of how the autoimmune disease progressed. She prepared herself for…
Waiting on a Rainbow: Virginia Heart Recipients Inspire National Campaign
The rainbow has been a symbol of hope for organ and tissue donation recipients at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) for decades. Perhaps it’s because of a rainbow’s startling, out-of-the-blue quality. Perhaps it’s because the sight of one means the worst is over. Or perhaps it’s because a rainbow is such an indisputable…