06/04/2026
ORGAN DONATION - THE GIFT OF LIFE
PLEASE SHARE FOR ME!
This is very near and dear to me! Eight years ago, my brother received the gift of life from someone who made the choice to donate their organs. My brother received their liver, and as a result, has been given a second chance at life and is doing amazing! Now, my husband, Steve, needs a kidney due to type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed at just 12 years old. It's been 58 years! He is in the process of being listed for a kidney transplant, which can take an average of 3-5 years of waiting for “that call.” He’s over the age to receive a pancreas but there is hope for an islet transplant within the next year at Tampa General Hospital! Dialysis is in the near future but with a living donor, he may not have to go through with dialysis.
Living donors are the optimal choice for a kidney.
The Benefits of Living Donation:
Wait Times: Eliminates the need for long, sometimes multi-year waitlists for deceased donor kidneys. Decreases the time on Dialysis as well.
Planned Procedures: Surgeries can often be scheduled preemptively, before the recipient even requires dialysis, which provides the best long-term health outcomes.
Lower Rejection Risk: Better tissue matching and shorter transit times for the organ lower the risk of acute organ rejection.
If you ever thought about becoming a living donor, please consider doing so now. My husband will be registered at Tampa General Hospital, Transplant Institute. Please call 1-813-844-5669 or visit TGH.org/LivingKidneyDonor or contact me. Let them know you are interested in donating to my husband, Steve Irons. Even if you aren’t a match for my husband and still want to donate, a paired kidney exchange or a kidney swap can happen! It allows an incompatible donor-recipient pair to exchange kidneys with another incompatible pair. This setup creates a chain where everyone gets a compatible organ.
How It Works:
The Problem: Donor A wants to give to Recipient A, but they are not a medical match due to blood type or antibodies. Donor B wants to give to Recipient B, but they also do not match.
The Swap: Donor A gives their kidney to Recipient B.
The Payoff: Donor B gives their kidney to Recipient A.
Common Types of Exchanges:
Paired Exchange (Simple Swap): Two incompatible pairs switch donors so both patients get a matching kidney.
Donation Chains: An altruistic donor (someone donating to a stranger) gives to a recipient in an incompatible pair. That pair's donor then gives to another recipient, starting a multi-person chain.
Voucher Programs: Managed by organizations like the National Kidney Registry. The donor gives a kidney to a stranger now on the registry. In return, their intended recipient gets a "voucher". This voucher prioritizes them for a well-matched living donor kidney when they are ready for surgery.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions. Have an amazing day and please consider living organ donation!
Lori
Learn about the importance of living kidney donors and how to become a donor with TGH.
