Transplant News and Events

Rochester, MN Transplant Patients - The Mayo Rochester Patient Picnic will be held Sunday, July 27, 2025 from 11am to 2pm. And our location has been finalized! We will be meeting at Cascade Lake Park, 88 23rd Ave. SW, in Rochester, MN. You should receive an invitation with RSVP information soon!

I went to the Mayo speciality building # 2 this past week to route my upcoming visits on the 9th and 10th of April. I was impressed. That place is amazing. I started this journey in 2022 with an intended recipient who got hers at CORE. I had never heard altruistic before a few months ago when I was given my donor team at MAYO. I'm hesitant to use it as I don't want to sound self righteous. I felt conflict at first as I am not a show-off. And I dont want to come off as one. It has been suggested to me to continue using it as I am earning it. I want nothing in return from my new recipient. I may never meet them. The voucher will be used for my ex-inlaws who rarely communicate with me. One of them was my original recipient. It is truely an honor for me to be able to help someone in need. The feeling of doing good is a reward greater than any I can imagine. At 64 I now continue my education to help others with mental health challenges. I am now a certified Peer Support Specialist with a supplement Peer Strengthening certification recently achieved. There is no better gift than the feeling of being of service to those I can, using my experience to help them achieve harmony and peace in their lives. Someday I wish to be a mentor like you. Have an awesome weekend!!

I didn’t know there was such a distinction! My own liver and kidney came from an anonymous deceased donor. So that is really the limit of my experience.
You are in good hands at Mayo! I received my transplant at Mayo in Rochester MN. Celebrating 16 years in April!

I also use the term non direct donor. However, my nurse coordinator from Mayo has informed me that Mayo refers to us as altruistic donors. I had never used that term when working with CORE Kidney UCLA. I can put you in touch with my nurse coordinator if you have questions as to why they corrected me when I referred to myself as non-directed/anonymous donor. I talk to them on Tuesday and will share your concerns.

@trooperdogg1960, Thank you for considering being a living kidney donor. Another term used for for altruistic donation is a Nondiret donation. Nondirected living donors are people who donate organs, usually kidneys, to people they don't know. The organs are given anonymously as gifts without expectation of something in return.

Here is what the National Kidney Foundation says about altruistic/nondirect kidney donation: "To donate to anyone, contact any transplant center." https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/becoming-living-donor
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Here is information from Mayo Clinic:
- Nondirected living-donor transplant
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/nondirected-living-donor/pyc-20384850
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trooperdogg1960, Have you already filled out a living donor application form?

@trooperdogg1960
What a wonderful, generous and kind person you are! A true hero! Someone will be very grateful to receive your kidney! I would recommend getting whole life or at least term life insurance now, because you may have difficulty later. Your kidney function should return to normal after a period of recovery from your donation, but life insurance can become hard to get if you have any kidney related issue. I would hope that donation would not prevent you from obtaining life insurance, but might be better to get it now just in case. I am a living donor kidney recipient. Thank you for being willing to give someone this precious gift!

Setting up to be a live altruistic kidney donor at Mayo Az. Original recipient decided she wanted a womans kidney. Go figure. Anyway here I am with a kidney all dressed up with nowhere to go. Is life insurance going to be an issue afterwards? I don't have it now and I told my kid just don't pick me up from the coroner when they call. But you know how family is. They want something to put on the shelf in a bottle. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

@gratefulbob, This sounds like a very interesting and informative event.
I am guessing that it is for Mayo Phoenix patients, is that correct?

Do you plan to attend? Have you got a question for the Doctor?

This upcoming Thursday, July 18th at 12pm (AZ time) is the Phoenix Mayo Ask an MD support group event, with special guest, Dr. Elizabeth Carey. Dr. Carey is one of the transplant hepatologists, and she will be answering your questions about all things transplant and liver related.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://mchealth.zoom.us/j/523961121
Meeting ID: 523 961 121
**Passcode required: liver

This is a confidential space so please no recordings or pictures of the group. Please join the group in a quiet, private space.

BIG NEWS! A groundbreaking achievement in organ transplant was released today. Mayo Clinic has performed the first known total larynx transplant on a patient with active cancer. Read more about this amazing surgery and the unique position of the patient that allowed him to proceed with a transplant with an active cancer. Medical Milestone: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-marks-medical-milestone-with-worlds-first-known-successful-total-larynx-transplant-performed-in-a-patient-with-an-active-cancer-as-part-of-a-clinical-trial/