General Questions

How old are you?

15

Where are you from?

Las Cruces, NM

Transplant

What was your transplant?

Liver, received August 2004, 9 months old

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

biliary atresia (she did a report of the condition at school)

What was life like before transplant?

I was a baby. I don’t know. But I know since the day I was born I was always sick.

How long did you wait for your transplant?

not long

How was the road to recovery?

I think it was kinda rough. I had pmneumia a lot of times.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

To live like a normal person.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

Yes.

Sienna’s family found them on a newspaper. At 13, Sienna dug around hard to contact to family.

Was it a male or a female? How old were they?

Male. 9.

How did they die?

Drank the wrong milk (dairy allergy).

Who decided to be an organ donor? Their family or the donor themselves?

The family had to decide. It was a really hard decision for them.

Did you meet their family?

I never met them. I never knew them.

When she was 13, Sienna got curious and just wanted to see a picture of her donor. When she found his picture in a newspaper, she freaked out.

Sienna had to do a report of a medical condition for school, so she picked biliary atresia. Through her research, she found she could take a pill once a day, and now she is.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

Do it. You don’t need your organs when you’re dead.

General Questions

How old are you?

12

Transplant

What was your transplant?

Liver

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

biliary atresia

What was life like before transplant?

I don’t remember it, but my mom told me a little bit of it. I was definitely in a bit of pain.

How was the road to recovery?

It was definitely painful because I couldn’t eat for a couple of days but it wasn’t the worst.

What can you do now after transplant?

Um… I probably… I’m normally healthy all the time now. I can do everything now. I learned to swim and all that.

She couldn’t eat gluten.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

I really don’t go the hospital anymore. I don’t like the hospital.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

No.

Was it a male or a female? How old were they?

Male. 17.

Did you meet their family?

My mom met his parents but I didn’t actually meet them.

Tatum does not know how it went and is not in contact.

Tatum’s dad was also willing to donate half of his liver.

General Questions

How old are you?

15

Where are you from?

Albuquerque, NM

Transplant

What was your transplant?

Liver, received Nov 2004, about 8 or 9 months old

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

Biliary Atresia

What was life like before transplant?

Honestly… I don’t know because I was a kid…but I felt really good.

How long did you wait for your transplant?

Idk, longer than Sienna but not long.

(Sienna and Grace were at the same hospital during their transplants)

How was the road to recovery?

Idk. Grace kept getting sick and switched from Prograf to Sirolimus.

What can you do now after transplant?

I can live properly.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

Living a normal life and not being sick.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

All I know id I think he was 13 and died in a car crash.

Was it a male or a female? How old were they?

M. 13.

Who decided to be an organ donor? Their family or the donor themselves?

The family.

Did you meet their family?

No.

---

Grace and Sienna’s parents met each other in the hospital. They spent a lot of time as children sick together.

How was that like?

It made me feel like everyone was like me.

It was nice. I didn’t feel alone.

Did it help you?

It helped our families more than it helped her, for sure.

I think I wasn’t aware it wasn’t normal.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

Totally do it.

General Questions

How old are you?

15

Where are you from?

San Jose, CA

Transplant

What was your transplant?

Kidney, received July 24, 2018, age 13

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

Low Hemoglobin

What was life like before transplant?

Normal

How long did you wait for your transplant?

1 year

How was the road to recovery?

It was not that hard, but it wasn’t super duper easy.

What can you do now after transplant?

A lot more than I could before. I have a lot more freedom.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

Being able to experience my teenage years to the fullest.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

No.

Would you like to?

Yeah, I would love to meet my donor family. I would thank them and make them feel that the kidney is in good hands.

What did you do to celebrate today? (today was the one year mark since her transplant)

My parents took me to a really nice restaurant and we told them it was my birthday.

How do you feel?

I feel very grateful and encouraged to do things out of my comfort zone.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

You’re saving a life without losing yours.

General Questions

How old are you?

16

Where are you from?

Menlo Park, CA

Transplant

What was your transplant?

Liver, received June 5, 2012, 9 years old

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

A.G.S.L. – Alagille Syndrome, which is a genetic disease of a mutated gene that makes it hard to process bile. It affects all organs but the liver was the worst.

What was life like before transplant?

I didn’t feel as well as I do now but I had to take a lot of medications. Towards the point I had my transplant I missed a bunch of school.

How long did you wait for your transplant?

¾ year

How was the road to recovery?

It was a long road to recovery. I think I had a pretty normal road to recovery for a liver transplant. There wasn’t anything abnormal about it.

What can you do now after transplant?

When I was younger – before my liver problem became worse – I could do normal stuff. As it got worse and worse, I had less energy and basic stuff became harder to do. I was supposed to have a transplant when I was one or two, but nobody knew why my liver stayed healthy for so long. So I got my transplant at nine instead. To put my liver in perspective, a normal liver is supposed to look pink but mine looked green.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

I get to live longer than I would’ve. Knowing my life has been extended – sort of artificially – makes you value it more I think.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

No.

Would you like to meet your donor?

My donor is deceased.

Would you like to meet your donor family?

I’m not sure. It would be interesting at least to meet them.

I’d like to thank them… well… I’m not sure.

I don’t really want to meet them because I’m afraid they’ll be disappointed with the life I’m living now.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

They’d be helping someone. Helping to give life to someone else. As for live donors, I know it’s a difficult recovery program for live donors. For live donors, yeah, make sure you can handle it.

General Questions

How old are you?

17

Where are you from?

Bay Area

Transplant

What was your transplant?

liver, received July 2002

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

jaundice, biliary atresia

What was life like before transplant?

I had transplant at the age of 4 months so I don’t really have a backstory.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

All Khalieghya knows is her donor is a 4-year-old who drowned in a family pool and lived in Fresno.

How do you know that information about your donor?

The doctors told my mom, and my mom told me. My mom didn’t know that a transplant can come from mixed races, so when she found out it was from a white boy who drowned and his family decided to donate she asked a lot of questions.

Did you search for your donor?

I searched for my donor. I still do. At this point it’s been a 17 year search and if I do find them and talk to them it’s been a 17 year break of their son dying ang it would bring back memories.

What is your hospital picture?

The hospital took a picture of Khalieghya when she was 3, 4. Donate Life promoted donation by putting her picture in DMVs and hospitals.

What were the commercials you were in?

The commercials were about donation and telling our stories. Khalieghya stood there and her mom talked.

Do people recognize you?

Yes, actually. They’ll either be like ‘You look like a little girl I saw in the hospital’ or my mom would take a picture of me next to the poster and say ‘Oh, is that you?’

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

They should definitely do it because they save innocent little children.

General Questions

How old are you?

16

Where are you from?

Oakland, CA

Transplant

What was your transplant?

heart and liver, received August 2, 2010

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

double outlet right ventricle

What was life like before transplant?

I tried to stay normal but it didn’t really work out. I tried to keep up with other kids but it didn’t work out.

How long did you wait for your transplant?

7 years (he was on the list since birth)

How was the road to recovery?

That took at least half of the year. I went in August and I couldn’t go home-home until Christmas.

What can you do now after transplant?

Everything except for contact sports.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

Doing whatever you want – except for taking medicine. Other than that, life is great.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

No.

Would you want to?

Yeah, totally.

Why?

Cause I want to meet the family that gave me a second chance at life.

What do you do now?

I’m a rapper and music producer.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

A lot of people really need this. It’s your choice. We’re not forcing you, we’re encouraging it.

General Questions

How old are you?

16

Where are you from?

Fresno, CA

Transplant

What was your transplant?

kidney, received Nov 22, 2010

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

kidney failure, biliary atresia

What was life like before transplant?

My life was good. But on most days I was slowing down and trying to keep up with other kids but that sickness eventually go to me.

How long did you wait for your transplant?

at least a week

How was the road to recovery?

It was hard but it got a little bit easier every day. I went to the Ronald McDonald House but I had to go back to the hospital and my mom was freaking out. She almost passed out.

What can you do now after transplant?

Go out, have fun, be with my friends.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

Just being free and not being sick.

Donor

Do you know your donor?

No.

Would you like to meet your donor family?

Yes, I want to see how they’re coping and how they’re doing. He’s living, but through me.

What do you know about your donor?

He was male and 10-years-old. He was in a car crash and was on life support.

How is it having a boyfriend who also has a transplant?

It’s special that you share the same thing and know what each person is going through.

Do you support each other?

Yes.

Yes, very much so.

In what way?

Emotionally, physically, mentally.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

Do it because not a lot of people have the chance to do it.

Camila had three transplants. She underwent a heart transplant on September 14, 2004. Then she underwent a heart transplant on February 10, 2019, immediately followed by a kidney transplant on February 11, 2019.

General Questions

How old are you?

16

Where are you from?

South Lake Tahoe; Hayward

1st Transplant – Heart

What was your transplant?

Heart, received September 14, 2004

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

Cardiomyopathy

Why did you have two hearts?

My lungs weren’t working on their own and my heart wasn’t functioning.

Where did the two hearts come from?

One was my native heart and the other was the donor heart

How did that work?

My native heart and my donor heart were connected. My native heart pumped blood to the whole body and my donor heart pumped blood to my lungs.

How was the road to recovery?

I have no idea. I was 22 months when I got that.

Why did it not work out?

My donor heart stopped working and my artery started closing. I got coronary artery disease and it led to my second transplant.

When were you placed on the list?

14

How did your heart hold up that long?

Medicine.

My first heart transplant lasted 14 years.

Did you feel tired with your failing heart?

Tiring, because I couldn’t do much and the doctors put me on Milrinone and I felt better but I felt trapped.

Camilla led a normal life until 14, when everything dropped.

2nd Transplant – Heart & Kidney

What was your transplant?

Heart & Kidney

What was your condition that led to the transplant?

For the heart, it was coronary artery disease. They replaced her kidney because they didn’t want her kidneys to fail later after transplant.

How long did you wait for your transplant?

2 years

What was it like when they told you a heart was available?

I was so emotional I cried. Finally, my life can get back to normal.

How was the road to recovery?

It was hard cause I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t walk, eat, and I had to go to rehab to relearn everything. I had a tracheostomy and I couldn’t eat for 3 months. I had it until March and June 18 they took it out.

How does it feel now?

It’s back to normal. All I needed was my transplant and to get that PICC line out of me.

How do you predict it’ll be in a year?

Still good.

Camila said same or better, but she’s leaning towards better.

What are you most excited about after being healthy?

Travel. Because I couldn’t travel before.

Donor

1st Transplant – Heart

Do you know your donor?

No.

What do you know about your donor?

They were from San Francisco.

Would you like to meet your donor family?

Yes. To thank them that they were willing to give up their loved one and donate their organs to save someone else.

2nd Transplant – Heart & Kidney

Do you know your donor?

No.

Would you like to meet your donor family?

Yes. For the same reason.

How do you try to live your life now?

As normal as possible.

What would you say to people considering to be an organ donor?

You should consider it because it could save many people’s lives and even children. You could get closure knowing your loved one lives through someone else.