In the News

There were several factors that influenced Jorge Losch’s decision to become a living organ donor. He was inspired by his wife, Sara, who wanted to donate an organ but wasn’t able to due to health reasons, and he has two loved ones who received life-saving liver transplants.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 100,000 people are currently waiting for a kidney transplant. Springfield resident Rob Haupt is all too familiar with that statistic. He’s hoping that someone who reads this story, or hears about his situation, will consider becoming a living kidney donor. Because his life could depend on it.

Nearly 1 in 7 U.S. adults have chronic kidney disease that may require a kidney transplant. In South Florida, Memorial Transplant Institute is on the front lines, treating kidney disease and increasing positive outcomes for patients in need of life-saving transplants.

After joining the ranks of kidney donor with her spouse, Lynn Scotch will team up with her husband, Mark, as the pair gear up to hit the road again to raise awareness on the ease and necessity of live-organ donation.

Randy Weber was one of the youngest Olympians back when he competed. Decades later, transplant pros, a friend who had served in the Marines and Randy’s teacher-brother all teamed up to save the skier’s life.

Billy Welsh, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, and John Gladwell, a Kansas City Chiefs fan, first met more than 20 years ago in the U.S. Marine Corps. The two stayed connected through Facebook, which is how Gladwell found out Welsh needed a kidney. Gladwell got tested as a potential donor and was a 99% match.

Katie Vasko helps others in any way she can. When Vasko learned that family friend Matt Abfall needed a kidney transplant, she knew what she had to do. Katie signed herself up with the National Kidney Registry as a possible donor. She was a perfect match.

Everyone knows winter is the season of giving, but one Oak Park teenager gave something this Christmas that couldn’t be tied up in a bow. It had to be packed on ice, flown to California and transplanted into a stranger’s body. Joey Pascarella donated his kidney. His left kidney, to be exact.

Two days after her 55th birthday, on Dec. 20, 2022, Kirsten Minnerath had surgery to remove her kidney. It was being donated to a stranger through a non-directed living kidney donation. Minnerath’s donation process began when she found out a friend’s husband needed a kidney.

Health, not age, is the key to living organ donation. Since 1995, more than 200 people aged 70 or older have become living donors. Learn more about age and organ donation.