Seventy-one individuals donated their organs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2024, and they and their families were saluted on April 30 at the annual Donate Life Ceremony.
“Those 71 donors resulted in 235 lives that were saved,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “Two hundred thirty-five lifesaving gifts to people waiting and hoping for another opportunity for life — mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, our friends, our families, our coworkers, our neighbors. In addition to that, there were another 191 individuals who made the remarkable gift of tissue donation … which restored sight to the blind, enhanced the lives of burn victims, and gave mobility to those with bone and joint injuries.”
The ceremony, held in the lobby of Langford Auditorium, was part of a national effort to raise awareness about the need for organ and tissue donors. In addition to honoring organ donors and their families, the ceremony salutes hospital staff who care for donors and transplant recipients. The event is a partnership between the Vanderbilt Transplant Center and Tennessee Donor Services, the federally designated donor network that facilitates organ and tissue donation in the region.
There are two types of organ donation — living donation, in which a living person donates a kidney or a partial liver, and deceased donation, when someone gives the gift of their organs after death. Many people state their preference by choosing to be listed as organ donors on their driver’s licenses.
The event featured remarks from the father of a deceased donor and a recipient of a donor organ.
Jimmy Sullivan of Rutherford County, Tennessee, remembered his 10-year-old son, Asher, who was swept up in a flash flood near his home one year ago. Deprived of oxygen for too long, Asher was rushed to VUMC, but he never regained consciousness. Sullivan recalled how his wife, Kaycee, had been registered as an organ donor for decades, but he resisted the idea of organ donation until the family had to decide for Asher at the end of his life.
He recalled how Kaycee advocated for donating Asher’s organs, and he ultimately agreed. Now Jimmy Sullivan is a tireless advocate for organ donation.
“She saved other lives by truly pushing me on those days,” Sullivan said. “Asher was the most loving kid in the world. That’s what he would want. That’s truly what made the decision for us. … It was absolutely the best decision we could make in a horrible situation. And I am thankful each and every day that although we lost our son, I am so thankful that we were able to save others and keep not only Asher’s memory alive but part of him physically alive through saving others.”
Kim Betts, a local nurse and songwriter, shared the story of how she got a kidney from her living donor, Megan Conner.
Betts recalled how she went from being a competitive runner to kidney failure and daily dialysis treatment. She recalled the daily nausea and fatigue while on dialysis, hoping for an organ donor. Finally, she shared her story on social media and five people came forward to be tested to see if their kidneys were a match. They weren’t.
Finally, Betts emailed Conner, a fellow runner, to see if she would be interested. Not only was she interested, but she would get tested immediately at VUMC.
“We knew pretty soon she was a match,” Betts said.
This January, she received Conner’s life-giving gift. She recalls what it felt like to wake up from her transplant.
“I felt a spark of life go through my body that I didn’t recognize,” Betts said. “I thought for a moment. And then I realized what it was, and I looked at my mom, and I said I feel better than I have felt in two and a half years, before all this ever started. It was immediate. It was the best feeling I’ve ever had. So now, thanks to my donor, I have a future.”
Conner said when Betts asked if she would give her a kidney, she never gave it a second thought. She was going to run a marathon first, but her answer was always going to be, “Yes.”
“I was like, let’s go,” Conner said. “Let’s do it. And as soon as I started testing, I knew that it was going to happen.”
Three months after she donated, Conner ran a half-marathon. She has no regrets about her donation.
“It’s a very personal choice, but it’s really the best thing that you’ll ever do,” Conner said. “I mean, what is better than being able to say that you possibly saved someone’s life or that you did save someone’s life.”
Following the speakers, living donors and deceased organ donor families were honored.
Teresa Hobt-Bingham, MSN, RN, associate nursing officer for Surgery and chair of the VUMC Organ Donation Advisory Committee, encouraged people to consider being an organ donor. She noted that nearly 3,000 people in Tennessee and about 1,500 people just at VUMC are waiting for a donation. She said organ donors at the end of life can save up to eight lives and can help up to 75 individuals through tissue donation.
“We are here today to acknowledge and honor the heroes who have made a profound difference in someone else’s life through organ and tissue donation,” Hobt-Bingham said. “No matter what, either end-of-life or as a living donor, when all medical efforts have been exhausted for patients, we believe that patients and their families should have the extraordinary opportunity to leave a legacy to save and enhance lives through donation.”
To learn more about becoming an organ and tissue donor, visit bethegifttoday.com.
Tennessee drivers can also choose to become organ donors on their driver’s license applications. Donors are encouraged to share their decisions with their families.
