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Gina Ryan is a volunteer with the Mayo Clinic Transplant team in Florida and an active member of the U.S. Coast Guard. Long before she ever volunteered, transplant care was already part of her family’s story.
Her grandmother, a liver and kidney transplant recipient at Mayo Clinic, was given 14 more years with her family.
“Because of Mayo Clinic, my grandmother was able to see my sister and me graduate high school and college,” Gina shared. “Those extra years meant everything to our family.”
Today, Gina volunteers in transplant care to honor that legacy and pay forward the compassion her family once received.
What does your volunteer role in transplant care involve?
My volunteer role includes preparing exam rooms by disinfecting surfaces, collecting patient vitals and assisting nurses with patient rooming.
What drew you to volunteer with the transplant team?
When my grandmother passed, my family made a promise that we would always honor her legacy and the opportunity Mayo Clinic and the transplant team gave us. I also made a promise of my own, that if I were ever stationed back in Jacksonville, I would find a way to volunteer at Mayo Clinic.
When I began exploring volunteer opportunities, I didn’t realize the Transplant Department was an option. During my interview, I shared how important Mayo Clinic had been to my family, and it turned out there was an opening in transplant. It felt very serendipitous. I couldn’t imagine a better way to give back or a better place to donate my time.
Can you share your personal connection to donation and transplantation?
My grandmother was Olga Garcia, and she was a liver and kidney transplant recipient at Mayo Clinic in 2004. Growing up, my sister and I spent our summers visiting our grandmother in Puerto Rico before she eventually moved to Jacksonville. After a few years, she began showing signs of liver failure and was seen at Mayo. After months of dialysis, appointments and hospitalizations, we received a call that a match had been found.
The surgery went well, and because of the care she received at Mayo Clinic, my grandmother lived with us for another 14 years until her passing in 2018. During that extra time with us, she was able to see my sister and me graduate high school and college, hear about my enlistment in the Coast Guard and celebrate many holidays and birthdays.
How does that personal connection influence how you approach your volunteer work?
Taking care of my grandmother at a young age was difficult but it taught me patience, kindness and compassion. I learned that even on her bad days, when she wasn’t feeling her greatest, she always found a way to smile. When it comes to my volunteer work, that’s what I bring with me. I carry the memories in my heart, so that I can meet every patient, as well as their families, with kindness and compassion, because I do understand what they are going through and how difficult the journey may be.
What moment during your volunteer experience has stayed with you the most?
It’s hard to choose just one. Being recognized by patients after a single encounter or connecting with them in a small way really stays with me. I love seeing their surprise when they learn I’m not pursuing a medical degree but rather working toward a cybersecurity degree. Every interaction feels special and I hold those moments close to my heart.
What would you say to someone considering volunteering in transplant care?
Meet everyone with kindness, compassion and patience. You never know what kind of day someone is having, but a smile and a little patience can go a long way. Talk with people, share a laugh - you never know how much of an impact you can have on turning a person’s day around. I like to remind myself that the smallest pebble can cast the greatest ripple.
Gina shared that there are still doctors at Mayo Clinic who cared for her grandmother more than 20 years ago - something she remains deeply grateful for.
“Volunteering at Mayo is my way of keeping her legacy alive,” Gina shared. “Being able to share her story is an absolute privilege.”
Outside of volunteering, Gina serves in the U.S. Coast Guard as a hoist operator and aircraft mechanic. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing cozy video games, spending time with her cat, and tinkering with her car.
About Faces of Compassion
Faces of Compassion is a monthly series highlighting members of the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center team who are personally connected to organ, eye and tissue donation or transplantation. Through their stories, we honor the compassion and lived experience that inform the care our transplant teams provide every day.
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