I want to welcome everybody again this year for the annual donor
appreciation ceremony for the MedStar Georgetown
Transplant Institute.
This year, you see, we're doing this by video.
And last year, with the height of COVID-19 hitting us,
we weren't even able to have a ceremony at all.
So, this annual ceremony is really for two years
and the hundreds and hundreds of donors that have stepped forward
and had an extraordinary impact on the life
and the outcome of that one other person.
That's really incredible.
So, in a solemn way, I just want to say that everybody
who donated in these last two years and rose to a level
that's way beyond anything that could be expected of them.
So, welcome again.
I just want to thank everybody for being here.
Hopefully, next year, we'll even do it in person again.
I always
thought I was Deion and he was like Jerry Rice.
We grew up real close and real tight with each other.
Brotherly love.
When my brother got sick,
I really...I didn't believe it at first.
He just probably got a little cold or something.
And by the time I seen a specialist, they told me
'you're going to have to start like dialysis soon
because you have kidney failure.' This is serious.
Like, he really is sick.
Just always being tired, just drained,
just, you know, physically weak.
MedStar Georgetown started talking to me about a living donor program
that they have.
When they told me I was a match, I went crazy.
It was like I scored the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.
I mean,
it was like I was trying my best to hold back tears.
But at the same time, I was just so excited.
But one of the miraculous things about living donor
transplant is immediately after we take the clamps off of the vessel,
so the blood is flowing in and out of the kidney,
99% of living donor kidneys work immediately. We finish the operation,
and I think he would tell you most people will tell you,
even in the recovery room, just hours after the transplant is completed,
they already feel better.
I would expect, you know, his recovery
now almost a couple of months following his transplant,
he continues to feel the benefits of that.
But what we want to be able to see is that five years, ten
years, 15, 20 years from now, we can have the same conversation.
We can say that not only was the gift of life successful in the short term,
but decades after his operation, he's able to have a normal life
and a better life further from dialysis.
I just feel like a new man.
I mean, I'm kind of anxious to get out there and start working out again
as well. Get back in the gym, start spring and try to get some of my weight back up.
I'm grateful not to have dialysis
for three days of the week, four hours, so definitely a blessing.
I'm so grateful that I do not have to go through that again.
Certainly,
as physicians, we've experienced
saving lives in our medical careers.
But this is different.
This is life saving and life changing.
You have to go to medical school, you don't need
any kind of special training.
You just got to show up.
So we decided to be non-directed
donors. Non-directed and anonymous, actually.
We did not have a person for whom we were donating our kidneys.
We just decided that this was the right thing to do.
We were able to set off a chain
that many other people were able to take advantage of.
The kidney's got a flight it's got to catch.
It has a GPS with it so we can follow the kidney as it goes across the country.
It'll land in Cleveland, they're waiting for it
and they'll do the transplant right away.
Donating turned out to be
truly a remarkable experience.
Just knowing that you've done something, something
that's sort of miraculous to help another person
to live better and probably live longer.
It's a great feeling.
As the director
of the living donor program, I get the incredible honor
of working with all of you. When you come forward to be a donor,
one of my favorite parts of my job
is that I get to see you from beginning to end in the process.
So, I meet you when you first come forward and you're thinking about being a donor,
usually a little bit nervous, which I think is totally normal,
going through the process, being evaluated, doing the surgery itself
and then seeing you in all your follow-up appointments.
And I love seeing the joy that you get
from having done something so incredibly meaningful.
You gave the gift of life to another person.
And it's interesting to me to watch how much
the donor gets out of that as well as the recipient.
So, I think it's been an incredible gift
that you've given me, that I'm able to work with such awesome,
generous, altruistic, wonderful people on a daily basis.
And I just want to again express our incredible appreciation for all of you.
My sister gave me
the greatest gift of all the gift of life,
so when I was 40, I started to get severe pain
and my kidney function was dropping pretty rapidly.
The next step would be to find a donor.
And we both got tested.
The nurse called me to tell me I was able to donate.
I called her because I just couldn't believe it.
I'm on the road and I probably should have pulled over
because literally, I mean, I couldn't see because we were both crying so hard.
I felt like that was the answer to my prayers and that that was going
to allow me to have a healthy life.
My kidneys were so large that they were going up into my rib cage,
and I always felt like I was short of breath, and just to have that feeling
that I can breathe and that the pain was gone was just amazing.
I feel so much
better than I did before the transplant.
All because Sharon so unselfishly gave kidney
so that I could have a normal life.
It's just, I mean, I can't put into words how grateful I am.
It was worth it.
When our patients are diagnosed with end-stage liver disease
and or some type of liver tumors, and our team decides that a liver
transplant is needed, that's exactly when the clock starts ticking.
We don't have dialysis or any type of other device
that may help their failing livers.
That's why doing a timely transfer is so important.
You heroes, by donating a portion of your liver, made
that significant impact in our recipient's life and also in their families'.
Thank you so much for donating good life to them.
So, in
2016, I was diagnosed with a tumor in my pancreas
that metastasized to my liver, and I had lots of tumors
in my liver.
In 2019, they said I needed a transplant and they put me on the donor list.
But after being on the list for a year,
it wasn't working for me to get a deceased liver.
So, they were encouraging me to put the word out for a living donor.
So, we went through social media and word of mouth and my church and
my youngest daughter, Samantha, heard that conversation
and said that she would like to try to be my donor.
Hi. Hi there.
I was living with them at the time,
so I was supposed to be her secondary caretaker.
I had sort of written it off to be a donor for her
until things got a little more dire and I decided to go for it.
So, half of
my liver went to my mom,
my surgeon was Dr.
Fishbein, he was very good.
The liver is an amazing organ
and we can remove up to 80
or 85% of the liver, in fact, and the liver will regenerate itself.
It's the only organ in the body that seems to know
how to regenerate itself and grow back to become a whole organ.
And that is what allows us to remove a portion
of one liver which grows back for the donor.
And then the portion of a liver that goes into the recipient grows
along with the recipient to become like a whole organ for them.
Living donors are true heroes.
They're literally giving the gift of life.
I've just been very grateful to get to know these remarkable
and incredibly generous donors who make such a huge difference.
Before our surgery,
Samantha gave me a necklace that says faith over fear, and she has one to match
it. I never dreamed I'd grow up to be a super cool living donor,
but here I am, crushing it. And we are crushing it together.
You know, I'm just thankful to my daughter
and to MedStar Georgetown
and for a second chance.
So, hopefully my story just might inspire someone else
to be a living donor and save someone else's
life.
I'm so thankful for everything that our donors do.
They make everything we do here at MedStar Georgetown
Transplant Institute possible.
I think I have the greatest job in the whole world
and our living donors make that possible.
So, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you.
On behalf of everybody who works here at the MedStar Georgetown
Transplant Institute, I want to thank all of you who have given
so much to be living donors for our program.
The gift that you have given is truly transformative.
Kidney donation and kidney transplantation is one of the few things
that not only make people feel better in medicine, but
they actually extend life and that can't be underestimated.
And I want to thank every one of you
for the gift that you have given.
And for the tremendous work that you have allowed us to do.
Thank you.
On behalf of the MedStar Georgetown
Transplant Institute, I want to thank you for being a living donor.
We want you to know that we say all the time in the Transplant Institute
that without donors we are unable to provide the gift of life.
But we want to make sure that,
you know, that we appreciate the sacrifice that you're making,
that we are consistently and constantly, always placing the safety of our donors
above all else.
And while our relationship may have started before the evaluation
and through the hospital,
know that we consider ourselves family for the rest of your life.
Hi, I'm Kim, and I decided to be a donor
because I was turning 60, and at that age, you can't help but reflect
on what you've done with your life.
So, as my birthday approached, I realized what better way
to make an impact on someone else's life than to give them the gift of life?
I had already made the decision to be an organ donor at the end of my life, but
I didn't anticipate the powerful emotions you experience being the living donor,
knowing there's someone out there with my kidney and a new lease on life.
It's been a wonderful experience and the best decision I ever made.
Hello.
I chose to be a kidney donor in memory
of my son, Adam, who lost his life at the age of 23.
I found out a friend of the family, his name was Troy,
was in dire need of a kidney transplant.
I did some research and I thought, what a great blessing it would be
if I could save someone else's life and the memory of my son.
Hi, my name is Troy.
I'm stage five kidney disease survivor.
If it wouldn't have been for my donor, Tammy McMaster,
who gave me her left kidney,
I wouldn't be here today.
To all those people that are thinking about donating a kidney or would love to give a kidney to somebody so that they could survive,
it would be awesome.
I can't tell how much it means to the person
that actually receives a kidney, whether they know you or they don't.
I was very fortunate enough to know Tammy.
Tammy went over and beyond
to help myself out
through all the treatments, through the surgeries and stuff.
I can't tell you how much it means to me to be here today that I'll be able to see
my daughter get married and see grandchildren eventually down the road.
With me being
48 years old, I still consider myself young and still very active.
With that being said, I can't thank her enough.
She's been one incredible person and a lifelong friend.
Thank you, Terry.
I love you.
Hi, I'm Sabrina Ricks,
and I'm a kidney donor for my brother Sean. I chose to become a donor because
I've known my brother my entire life and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I'm very thankful to MedStar Georgetown for allowing us to have
two successful surgeries and to give him a second chance at life.
Thank you.
My living donor and I would like to thank MedStar Georgetown
and the paired kidney exchange program for this life changing opportunity.
Since both our surgeries happened during COVID,
we also want to show our deep appreciation to our surgical and nursing teams
for their remarkable dedication, caring and commitment.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm joy, and I chose to be a living kidney donor
because I felt in my heart that it was the right thing to do,
and it also gave my recipient hope that there are still people out there
that are willing to lend a hand or a kidney in the time of need.
And I just feel like that's what life's about is just helping out
where you can and loving others and just being there and support.
I donated to a stranger that I didn't know, somebody in North Carolina,
after hearing multiple stories from folks who've had loved ones
that waited five to seven years for a deceased kidney,
how to decide whether or not to go on dialysis in the meantime.
And given that I had two highly functioning kidneys,
it seemed selfish for me to keep both, so I decided to donate.
Best decision I ever made.
What 100% do it again if I, you know, could live with zero.
And so again, we want to thank you for your commitment.
We want to let you know that we truly do believe that you are heroes
here on Earth, and we want to thank you for your donation.