Emily Greenwell, Recipient Family
When my dad was 18 years old, his father received a kidney transplant due to Polycystic Kidney Disease. Growing up, my family talked a lot about organ donation and how it had impacted our lives in such a positive way. I always found it fascinating that someone else’s kidney saved my grandfather’s life. My father […]
George Cecere, Recipient Family and Caregiver
From Caregiver to Advocate: George Cecere’s Mission to Support Transplant Families When George Cecere’s wife, Terri, received a life-saving heart transplant in 2022, the moment was both deeply personal and historically significant. Her surgery was the first heart transplant ever performed at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati—an extraordinary milestone for the hospital’s advanced heart failure […]
January 2024: Renee Mahaffey Harris. Featured in 2023 Calendar.
Being a registered organ donor means you may one day save or improve someone’s life. It is truly a gift to the community, and I am proud to be among those who are on the tissue and organ donation registry. I did not consider donating my organs until about ten years ago when a friend […]
November: Rev. Damon Lynch Jr. Featured in 2023 Calendar.
As a longtime member of the UC Health Board, I became involved in LifeCenter as a part of my board responsibility. For ten or fifteen years, I prayed at the flag raising in the circle at University Hospital. Many of my congregants at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church have donated and received organs over the […]
April: Patricia Soulas. Featured in 2023 Calendar.
Working as a nurse on a transplant team for 20 years, I get to see somebody go from being chronically ill, in and out of the hospital, not living to their fullest; and then they receive a kidney transplant, and now can do the things they wanted to do. I have taken care of toddlers […]
April: Dr. Don Hayes. Featured in 2023 Calendar.
My journey with transplant started when I was a medical student; I met a young lady who had cystic fibrosis and underwent a lung transplant. She was special, full of energy — full of life. It impacted me that a 16-year-old kid should not have to be living through this. Instead of preparing for prom […]
Laura Mooney and Marty Hudson, Living Donation Coordinators
We have the most amazing jobs! As Living Donor Coordinators at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, we receive phone calls and emails from the most courageous and genuine individuals willing to donate a kidney or a segment of their liver to a child. Some of these donor candidates have a direct relationship with the recipient, […]
The Pope’s Endorsement of Organ Donation
One of the biggest misconceptions about organ donation is that your religious beliefs could stop you from becoming an organ donor. For the millions of Catholics and Christians around the world, Pope Francis just put that fear to bed permanently. According to Pope Francis, “a gift to the suffering Lord who said that everything we […]
The Importance of Logan’s Law
In February of 2019, a new bill named Logan’s Law went before the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives with the goal of making organ donation more accessible to people who love the outdoors. All of this began with the kindness of Logan Luft, a young man whose thoughtful and caring decision to become an […]
Woman makes “Heartbeat Bears” for organ donors
http://local12.com/news/local/woman-makes-heartbeat-bears-for-organ-donors DELHI, Ohio (WKRC) – Debbie Wieland and her family spend a lot of time in their dining room making “Heartbeat Bears” for the families of organ donors. “The ribbon has to lay just right,” Debbie Wieland said as she made a bear. Wieland makes the bears in memory of her son, Ricky. He was […]