Lifeline Blog

Real stories about what is possible when you #SayYES.

I love you with all my liver

By Kelly Vance / June 12, 2018

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.…

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Kaleigh Whitelaw gave her dad a kidney.

Virginia Beach daughter gives dad gift of life

By Kelly Vance / May 30, 2018

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…

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The Fight and the Swap

By Kelly Vance / May 17, 2018

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…

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Alexandria mom and gold medalist returns to the US Transplant Games

By Kelly Vance / May 2, 2018

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…

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Laure Jean-Richard is a nurse at INOVA hospital.

A recovery nurse in recovery

By Kelly Vance / April 16, 2018

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…

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Checking your status could change 75 lives

Did you know organ donation can save 8 people, and improve life for 75 more? Check your status right now, and sign up to help others have longer, stronger lives.