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Front Page Stories
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Click below to read additional stories.
- Averi's Story
- Amelia's Story
- Brick's Story
- Adam's Story
- Sebastian's Story
- Ixel's Story
- Jan's Story
- E'tienne's Story
- Fapuiaki's Story
- Lyle's Story
- Verl's Story
- Mark's Story
- UFOs Promote Kidney Donation
Averi's Story
Averi was born with Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, which means the ventricle on the right side of her heart did not develop appropriately. She was listed for a heart transplant when she was only five days old! She had surgery to implant a shunt to help her heart when she was only 13 days old. Waiting for a heart transplant was very difficult for her family.
Averi was able to get a transplant when she was two months old. She is now doing great and her parents are so grateful to the family who gave her life.
Amelia's Story
Three year old Amelia, was born with kidney disease. She was started on dialysis when she was eleven months old. She went four times each week, and the process began to take its toll on both Amelia and her family. With a child as small as Amelia, there is a balance between not enough dialysis and too much, so she often came home feeling very sick and was back for another treatment before she really had a chance to recover from the last time. She had a very restricted diet and getting her to eat after dialysis could be very difficult.
Amelia recently received a kidney from a living donor. She is now able to jump, run, and play like other healthy three year olds. She and her parents are looking forward to living life without dialysis.
Brick's Story
Brick was diagnosed with kidney failure when he was just five days old. His parents, Matt and Krista, were told he would eventually need a kidney transplant. The decision to put him on the waiting list for a kidney was made when Brick was two years old.
“Every time the phone rang, our hearts would drop hoping it would be the call we were waiting for,” Krista said. Five months after being placed on the waiting list, ‘the call’ finally came. To their surprise, Brick’s kidney would be coming from a Good Samaritan Kidney Donor, someone who has made the decision to donate a kidney while they are living to someone they do not know.
“We were shocked,” said Krista. “This stranger wanted to donate his kidney to anyone who needed it. To think there was a person out there willing to give his kidney unselfishly, to a stranger, was very overwhelming. Because of the transplant, Brick has learned to walk, talk, jump and play; things you take for granted when you have a healthy child.”
Adam's Story
Adam's mom, Lisa, remembers exactly where she was standing when her son Adam brought up the subject of organ donation. When Lisa was faced with the reality of losing her teenage son, that conversation came back to her and she readily made the decision to donate Adam's organs. Steve, who had been struggling with liver disease, was the recipient of Adam's liver. He wanted to meet Adam's family and thank them personally for 
making the decision to donate Adam's organs. Lisa agreed and they arranged to meet. Steve was pretty nervous, not knowing what to expect. The nervousness left as soon as he met Lisa and she gave him a big hug. They have forged a very strong friendship and both are now involved in public education efforts, teaching students about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation.
Sebastian's Story
Sebastian was an easy going young man who liked to joke around a lot. That is why his mom, Gerri, was so surprised when he came home from school one day and asked if she was an organ donor. Gerri hadn’t thought a lot about donation before and was unsure how she felt about it. Sebastian made sure his mom knew he wanted to be an organ donor.
When Sebastian was killed in a tragic accident, Gerri respected his wishes to be an organ donor. “I am so grateful for that conversation with Sebastian,” says Gerri. “It wa
s important to me to know he had thought this through. I said yes to honor his wishes. I didn’t understand until later what a huge difference his decision would make.”
Gerri later met Carol, the recipient of Sebastian’s liver. “Carol was so sick before the transplant. She showed me some pictures and it doesn’t even look like the same person. She really didn’t think she was going to make it and she had two teenage sons to worry about.” Gerri and Carol now share their story in hopes it will get others talking about donation.
Ixel's Story
Ixel was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and had a heart transplant when she was eight years old. She likes reading, playing volleyball and playing the violin. She was recently able to meet the family of the young man who donated his heart after he died. She is very grateful to her donor and his family for giving her the chance to live her life with a healthy heart. Ixel volunteers for Intermountain Donor Services and is currently in high school. She has the goal of becoming a nurse.
Jan, a high school chemistry teacher, became the 25th Good Samaritan Kidney donor through Intermountain Donor Services. Jan, who is married with four children, felt deeply that he should donate when he heard about the program. “I did it to get more in touch with my humanity. I did it to give someone another toss of the dice in life. Furthermore, I have helped give more life to a future recipient who will get a kidney. Through donation I have beheld the glimmer of the greatest love of all. Not love given to me, but love from within me,” Jan said. David, Jan’s kidney recipient, needed a kidney, because of a genetic disorder which causes cysts to form on the kidneys. At age 64, his kidney ceased to function. Fortunately, the genetic defect will have no effect on his new kidney. “I owe the man my life,” David said. “I’m just glad I can thank him in person, instead of having to mourn the loss of his life to save my own.”
E'tienne's Story
E’tienne was born with a rare liver disease that affects newborn infants. There are surgeries that could help in the short term, but his parents were told he would need a liver transplant by the time he reached two years old.
E’tienne was placed on the transplant waiting list in December 2007. While he waited for transplant, he was in and out of the hospital almost every other month. In November 2008, E’tienne’s father received a call from an acquaintance he had met through work. The man asked if E’tienne was still waiting for a liver transplant. He said his granddaughter had been in an accident and wanted to request the liver go to him. They knew it was a long shot that the liver would be a match for E’tienne and yet they allowed themselves to believe in miracles. Testing was done, and against the odds, it was a match.
The death of the young woman who donated E’tienne’s liver was a great loss to her family and friends, and yet, they were able to make something positive happen by allowing her organs to be donated to save others. E’tienne is now trying to catch up on all of the things he missed while he was sick. He is learning to walk and talk, and he absolutely loves strawberry milkshakes.
Fapuiaki's Story
Four year old Fapuiaki was diagnosed with kidney failure shortly before Christmas, 2009. She goes to dialysis every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She will need to continue these treatments until she gets a kidney transplant. Her parents had hoped one of them might be able to donate a kidney to her, but after going through the required testing, it was determined they were not a good match.
Lyle's Story
When Lyle first became sick back in 1982, liver transplants were not being done in Utah. As his liver disease progressed, exciting things were happening in the field of transplantation in Utah. The liver transplant program in Utah started in late 1985 and Lyle was the second person on this list. When the call came, Lyle learned that he would be the first liver transplant patient in Utah. His doctor had gone back to Pittsburg to learn about their program and the surgery itself. The only actual liver transplant experience he had was on pigs. “I kept asking him what happened to the pigs. Never did get an answer,” Lyle said jokingly. The surgery was a huge success and the elementary school principal was able to return to work about 2 months later.
Now, over 20 years later, Lyle is grateful for the time he has had to spend with his family, including grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Verl's Story
Verl is a Vietnam Veteran. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1961 through 1969. The Salt Lake County resident describes himself as the luckiest man in the world. A few years ago when his heart began to fail, he was told he would need a heart transplant. He expected a very long wait. This is where his luck began. A short five days after being listed on the transplant waiting list, Verl received the call telling him to go straight to the hospital. He received a heart transplant on Christmas Day, 2007. Though Verl knows a family lost someone they love, he is so grateful they made the decision to let some good come out of their tragedy and donate organs. He encourages everyone to make the decision to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor and to discuss that decision with their families.
Mark's Story
Mark was a busy business man when he became sick and discovered his kidneys were beginning to fail. Mark started dialysis and just accepted that this would be part of his life until he could get a kidney transplant.
Meanwhile, Mark's sister, Nancy, began researching living kidney donation. She even went in for some of the initial testing. She wanted to donate a kidney to Mark, but was just waiting for some kind of indication from her brother that he would be willing to accept her gift of a kidney. The okay that Nancy had been waiting for actually came from Mark's wife, but that was all Nancy needed. "I never had any reservations about donating my kidney. My biggest fear through all of this was that they might find some reason I couldn't donate. The morning of the surgery felt like Christmas because I was so excited."
Mark finally received a kidney transplant after being on dialysis for three years. Mark and his sister both are both back to living active lives and being involved in their communities.
UFOs Promote Kidney Donation
“One Wheel, One Kidney, One Decision” is the motto of this unique group of young adults. This group calls themselves the UFOs, which stands for Unicycling for Organs, and their mission is to encourage people to consider the possibility of living kidney donation. There are almost 80,000 people in the United States in need of a kidney transplant. The UFOs are making a difference by performing in parades, at children’s hospital, sporting events and various other events across the Wasatch Front. They hope people remember them and the fact that they are able to get around and do amazing things on one wheel. Living kidney donors are able to live healthy, productive lives and do amazing things with one kidney.
