Latest news with #UnitedNetworkforOrganSharing
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NYC doctors perform first-ever ‘seamless' 22-hour triple organ transplant in state
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Doctors in New York City performed the first surgeries of their kind in the state—a 22-hour heart, liver, and kidney transplant. The surgeries took place at Mount Sinai Hospital. The first surgery occurred in January, and the second happened in March. More Local News 'The coordination between our abdominal and thoracic medical and surgical teams was seamless—and the anesthesia expertise required to perform these transplants was critical,' said Dr. Sander S. Florman, the head of the March surgical case. 'An amazing tour de force for this patient!' The first patient in January was a 64-year-old man who had previously undergone a heart transplant at The Mount Sinai Hospital in 2002. After two decades, he developed chronic rejection of his transplanted heart and experienced deteriorating kidney and liver function. Doctors noted that these complications are common with long-standing heart disease. The patient was able to undergo a heart, liver, and kidney transplant and recovered from the surgery. The second patient, a 45-year-old man suffering from severe cardiomyopathy, had experienced multiple complications during a hospitalization for heart failure in 2024. His hospitalization left him with end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis. The patient was readmitted to the hospital in February 2025 with worsening heart failure. He was listed for a heart and kidney transplantation. However, due to the progression of heart failure and cardiogenic shock—when the body's organs do not receive enough blood and oxygen to function correctly—he required two emergency artificial heart pumps to maintain cardiac function. More Local News By this time, his liver function had also begun to deteriorate, and he was dying of liver failure. The patient was emergently listed for a liver transplant and underwent the successful triple transplant several days later, making a turnaround. According to doctors, the patient returned home less than a month later after achieving a complete recovery. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, only 58 heart, liver, and kidney transplants have been performed nationwide. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A 3-week-old baby received a heart transplant 14 years ago and gained a ‘donor mom'
Editor's Note: The podcast CNN 5 Good Things shares the bright side of life from all over the globe. You can listen to episodes here. When she was 3 weeks old, the left side of Addison McArthur's heart stopped functioning, and she was put on the top of British Columbia's transplant waiting list. Now, the Vancouver native just celebrated her 14th birthday in the middle of National Donate Life Month, which aims to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation. As Addison tells the story, the doctors said to her parents she's 'probably the sickest baby in Western Canada, if not all of Canada.'' Her parents, Elaine Yong and Aaron McArthur, would later learn she had left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy, which can cause heart problems like arrhythmias and heart failure. Addison's mom was shocked to learn her newborn — her firstborn — was in the middle of a life-or-death situation. 'I think as a new mom, you have all these preconceived ideas of what being a mom's going to be about (and) of what life's going to be like watching your child grow up,' said Yong, who was 36 at the time. 'Going through that transplant journey with Addison was such a … wow, you can't control everything. You can't control the way this is going to go.' A few days later, she received the call she had been hoping for. On Mother's Day of that year, the family's heart surgeon said he'd had found a heart for Addison. Yong was so grateful, but she couldn't do what she wanted to do: She couldn't thank the donor directly. Canada's transplant system, like its United States counterpart, keeps organ donor and transplant recipient ID information private. Addison is one of the lucky ones, as historically, the need for organs outpaces supply, and patients can languish for years on waiting lists. Nearly 50,000 transplants were performed in the US in 2024; in Canada, almost 3,500 transplants were performed in 2023, and those numbers are climbing in both countries. Currently, just over 100,000 people in the US and nearly 3,500 people in Canada are currently on transplant waiting lists. Many will likely die without the procedure. A single donor can save up to eight lives, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. But even when a transplant is successful, there's no guarantee that a donor's family and transplant recipient will meet, let alone maintain a relationship. National statistics on how many families of organ donors connect with their transplant recipients are hard to pin down in both the US and Canada, and the estimates are low. Hilary Kleine, vice president of communications and registry for Donate Life America, a national organ donation advocacy organization, said her organization is collecting this data. In the US, some local organ procurement organizations that help to recover organs keep that kind of data, like Donor Network West in California and Nevada and LiveOnNY in New York. In Canada, some organ donation organizations, such as BC Transplant in Vancouver, where Yong works, have a direct contact program that 'allows recipients and donor family members to move beyond anonymous communication.' Several organ donation experts, including Dr. Nick Murphy, an organ donation ethics researcher at Western University in London, Ontario, say that some donors and transplant recipients also connect independently online . 'It was something I always knew — that if I could meet the donor family, I would want to,' Elaine Yong said. She had not been private about the journey — she had been blogging about Addison's transplant to keep friends and family updated. After about a year, she sent a thank-you letter to the donor family through her transplant center, knowing some donors choose not to respond. To her great surprise, the other mother replied. 'It was the day of Addison's one-year heart anniversary party,' Yong recalled. 'I remember looking at the blog and, like, seeing someone had commented, 'I'm Addison's donor mom.'' 'She thought I was fake,' said Felicia Hill, who was 21 and living in Reno, Nevada, when she received Yong's letter. Hill looked her up online and found her blog. One year earlier, her baby girl, Audrey Jade Hope Sullenger, had died of unknown causes just six days after she was born. When Hill agreed to donate Audrey's organs, Audrey became the youngest organ donor in the state of Nevada that year. Her kidneys went to an adult woman and her heart went to Addison. Yong saw online that Hill had started doing advocacy work and that the dates matched. 'I saw that she had the letter that I had sent, and I knew, 100%, this is our donor mom.' Yong also confirmed Hill's story, noting via email, '(There were) a few people who were involved in the case who provided enough hints that really solidified it.' Over time, she said they started communicating, then became Facebook friends, and in 2013, the two women agreed to meet up with their families in Santa Clara, California, for a Donate Life Walk. Yong brought a stethoscope so Hill could listen to Audrey's heart in Addison's chest, and Hill brought Addison a T-shirt commemorating Audrey's memory. 'I kind of went in there thinking, I've got something really precious that belongs to someone else. And like, it's going be really sad for her. She's going to be really emotional and thinking about her daughter who's not here and my daughter's here,' Yong said. 'But it wasn't like that at all.' 'When I first met her … I just wanted to hug Elaine,' Hill said. 'I felt connected immediately knowing that another mother got to raise their child. And that's what gave me so much happiness.' Hill, now 33, said their initial meeting went well because she'd made peace with Audrey's death, and she now shares her story to encourage others to consider donating organs at advocacy events. Yong is now 50. She said she was touched by the meeting and it inspired her to become an even stronger advocate for organ donation. In fact, she left a job in journalism to become a communications manager at her local organ donor organization, BC Transplant. The two moms say they communicate a few times a year and sometimes speak at conferences together about their transplant experience with Audrey and Addison. They consider each other to be family, which now includes Hill's two children and Addison's younger sister. Addison refers to Hill as 'Auntie Felicia' and sends her medals that she wins in track and swimming competitions. In 2018, Hill traveled to Vancouver to cheer on Addison in an event designed for transplant athletes, called the Canadian Transplant Games. At the end of April, both families will celebrate Audrey's birthday. She would have been 14 on April 30. And Hill plans to be in the stands when Addison competes in the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany, this summer. 'It's just really amazing to see that she (Addison) gets to live her life, and she is her own person,' Hill said. 'I like to say organ donation is like the ultimate act of love,' Yong said. 'This is like this most amazing gift that you don't know where it came from when you're giving it … you have no control over who it goes to, and you also have no idea what happens to it afterwards.' If you're interested in becoming an organ donor, you can register at your local department of motor vehicles, or DMV, or online at If you're an organ donor looking to connect with your transplant recipient or vice versa, your transplant center may be able to help. Eryn Mathewson is a podcast producer on the CNN Audio team, formerly with ESPN and WNYC. Her colleague Krista Bo contributed to this story.
CNN
23-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
A 3-week-old baby received a heart transplant 14 years ago and gained a ‘donor mom'
When she was 3 weeks old, the left side of Addison McArthur's heart stopped functioning, and she was put on the top of British Columbia's transplant waiting list. Now, the Vancouver native just celebrated her 14th birthday in the middle of National Donate Life Month, which aims to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation. As Addison tells the story, the doctors said to her parents she's 'probably the sickest baby in Western Canada, if not all of Canada.'' Her parents, Elaine Yong and Aaron McArthur, would later learn she had left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy, which can cause heart problems like arrhythmias and heart failure. Addison's mom was shocked to learn her newborn — her firstborn — was in the middle of a life-or-death situation. 'I think as a new mom, you have all these preconceived ideas of what being a mom's going to be about (and) of what life's going to be like watching your child grow up,' said Yong, who was 36 at the time. 'Going through that transplant journey with Addison was such a … wow, you can't control everything. You can't control the way this is going to go.' A few days later, she received the call she had been hoping for. On Mother's Day of that year, the family's heart surgeon said he'd had found a heart for Addison. Yong was so grateful, but she couldn't do what she wanted to do: She couldn't thank the donor directly. Canada's transplant system, like its United States counterpart, keeps organ donor and transplant recipient ID information private. Addison is one of the lucky ones, as historically, the need for organs outpaces supply, and patients can languish for years on waiting lists. Nearly 50,000 transplants were performed in the US in 2024; in Canada, almost 3,500 transplants were performed in 2023, and those numbers are climbing in both countries. Currently, just over 100,000 people in the US and nearly 3,500 people in Canada are currently on transplant waiting lists. Many will likely die without the procedure. A single donor can save up to eight lives, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. But even when a transplant is successful, there's no guarantee that a donor's family and transplant recipient will meet, let alone maintain a relationship. National statistics on how many families of organ donors connect with their transplant recipients are hard to pin down in both the US and Canada, and the estimates are low. Hilary Kleine, vice president of communications and registry for Donate Life America, a national organ donation advocacy organization, said her organization is collecting this data. In the US, some local organ procurement organizations that help to recover organs keep that kind of data, like Donor Network West in California and Nevada and LiveOnNY in New York. In Canada, some organ donation organizations, such as BC Transplant in Vancouver, where Yong works, have a direct contact program that 'allows recipients and donor family members to move beyond anonymous communication.' Several organ donation experts, including Dr. Nick Murphy, an organ donation ethics researcher at Western University in London, Ontario, say that some donors and transplant recipients also connect independently online . 'It was something I always knew — that if I could meet the donor family, I would want to,' Elaine Yong said. She had not been private about the journey — she had been blogging about Addison's transplant to keep friends and family updated. After about a year, she sent a thank-you letter to the donor family through her transplant center, knowing some donors choose not to respond. To her great surprise, the other mother replied. 'It was the day of Addison's one-year heart anniversary party,' Yong recalled. 'I remember looking at the blog and, like, seeing someone had commented, 'I'm Addison's donor mom.'' 'She thought I was fake,' said Felicia Hill, who was 21 and living in Reno, Nevada, when she received Yong's letter. Hill looked her up online and found her blog. One year earlier, her baby girl, Audrey Jade Hope Sullenger, had died of unknown causes just six days after she was born. When Hill agreed to donate Audrey's organs, Audrey became the youngest organ donor in the state of Nevada that year. Her kidneys went to an adult woman and her heart went to Addison. Yong saw online that Hill had started doing advocacy work and that the dates matched. 'I saw that she had the letter that I had sent, and I knew, 100%, this is our donor mom.' Yong also confirmed Hill's story, noting via email, '(There were) a few people who were involved in the case who provided enough hints that really solidified it.' Over time, she said they started communicating, then became Facebook friends, and in 2013, the two women agreed to meet up with their families in Santa Clara, California, for a Donate Life Walk. Yong brought a stethoscope so Hill could listen to Audrey's heart in Addison's chest, and Hill brought Addison a T-shirt commemorating Audrey's memory. 'I kind of went in there thinking, I've got something really precious that belongs to someone else. And like, it's going be really sad for her. She's going to be really emotional and thinking about her daughter who's not here and my daughter's here,' Yong said. 'But it wasn't like that at all.' 'When I first met her … I just wanted to hug Elaine,' Hill said. 'I felt connected immediately knowing that another mother got to raise their child. And that's what gave me so much happiness.' Hill, now 33, said their initial meeting went well because she'd made peace with Audrey's death, and she now shares her story to encourage others to consider donating organs at advocacy events. Yong is now 50. She said she was touched by the meeting and it inspired her to become an even stronger advocate for organ donation. In fact, she left a job in journalism to become a communications manager at her local organ donor organization, BC Transplant. The two moms say they communicate a few times a year and sometimes speak at conferences together about their transplant experience with Audrey and Addison. They consider each other to be family, which now includes Hill's two children and Addison's younger sister. Addison refers to Hill as 'Auntie Felicia' and sends her medals that she wins in track and swimming competitions. In 2018, Hill traveled to Vancouver to cheer on Addison in an event designed for transplant athletes, called the Canadian Transplant Games. At the end of April, both families will celebrate Audrey's birthday. She would have been 14 on April 30. And Hill plans to be in the stands when Addison competes in the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany, this summer. 'It's just really amazing to see that she (Addison) gets to live her life, and she is her own person,' Hill said. 'I like to say organ donation is like the ultimate act of love,' Yong said. 'This is like this most amazing gift that you don't know where it came from when you're giving it … you have no control over who it goes to, and you also have no idea what happens to it afterwards.' If you're interested in becoming an organ donor, you can register at your local department of motor vehicles, or DMV, or online at If you're an organ donor looking to connect with your transplant recipient or vice versa, your transplant center may be able to help.
CNN
23-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
A 3-week-old baby received a heart transplant 14 years ago and gained a ‘donor mom'
When she was 3 weeks old, the left side of Addison McArthur's heart stopped functioning, and she was put on the top of British Columbia's transplant waiting list. Now, the Vancouver native just celebrated her 14th birthday in the middle of National Donate Life Month, which aims to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation. As Addison tells the story, the doctors said to her parents she's 'probably the sickest baby in Western Canada, if not all of Canada.'' Her parents, Elaine Yong and Aaron McArthur, would later learn she had left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy, which can cause heart problems like arrhythmias and heart failure. Addison's mom was shocked to learn her newborn — her firstborn — was in the middle of a life-or-death situation. 'I think as a new mom, you have all these preconceived ideas of what being a mom's going to be about (and) of what life's going to be like watching your child grow up,' said Yong, who was 36 at the time. 'Going through that transplant journey with Addison was such a … wow, you can't control everything. You can't control the way this is going to go.' A few days later, she received the call she had been hoping for. On Mother's Day of that year, the family's heart surgeon said he'd had found a heart for Addison. Yong was so grateful, but she couldn't do what she wanted to do: She couldn't thank the donor directly. Canada's transplant system, like its United States counterpart, keeps organ donor and transplant recipient ID information private. Addison is one of the lucky ones, as historically, the need for organs outpaces supply, and patients can languish for years on waiting lists. Nearly 50,000 transplants were performed in the US in 2024; in Canada, almost 3,500 transplants were performed in 2023, and those numbers are climbing in both countries. Currently, just over 100,000 people in the US and nearly 3,500 people in Canada are currently on transplant waiting lists. Many will likely die without the procedure. A single donor can save up to eight lives, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. But even when a transplant is successful, there's no guarantee that a donor's family and transplant recipient will meet, let alone maintain a relationship. National statistics on how many families of organ donors connect with their transplant recipients are hard to pin down in both the US and Canada, and the estimates are low. Hilary Kleine, vice president of communications and registry for Donate Life America, a national organ donation advocacy organization, said her organization is collecting this data. In the US, some local organ procurement organizations that help to recover organs keep that kind of data, like Donor Network West in California and Nevada and LiveOnNY in New York. In Canada, some organ donation organizations, such as BC Transplant in Vancouver, where Yong works, have a direct contact program that 'allows recipients and donor family members to move beyond anonymous communication.' Several organ donation experts, including Dr. Nick Murphy, an organ donation ethics researcher at Western University in London, Ontario, say that some donors and transplant recipients also connect independently online . 'It was something I always knew — that if I could meet the donor family, I would want to,' Elaine Yong said. She had not been private about the journey — she had been blogging about Addison's transplant to keep friends and family updated. After about a year, she sent a thank-you letter to the donor family through her transplant center, knowing some donors choose not to respond. To her great surprise, the other mother replied. 'It was the day of Addison's one-year heart anniversary party,' Yong recalled. 'I remember looking at the blog and, like, seeing someone had commented, 'I'm Addison's donor mom.'' 'She thought I was fake,' said Felicia Hill, who was 21 and living in Reno, Nevada, when she received Yong's letter. Hill looked her up online and found her blog. One year earlier, her baby girl, Audrey Jade Hope Sullenger, had died of unknown causes just six days after she was born. When Hill agreed to donate Audrey's organs, Audrey became the youngest organ donor in the state of Nevada that year. Her kidneys went to an adult woman and her heart went to Addison. Yong saw online that Hill had started doing advocacy work and that the dates matched. 'I saw that she had the letter that I had sent, and I knew, 100%, this is our donor mom.' Yong also confirmed Hill's story, noting via email, '(There were) a few people who were involved in the case who provided enough hints that really solidified it.' Over time, she said they started communicating, then became Facebook friends, and in 2013, the two women agreed to meet up with their families in Santa Clara, California, for a Donate Life Walk. Yong brought a stethoscope so Hill could listen to Audrey's heart in Addison's chest, and Hill brought Addison a T-shirt commemorating Audrey's memory. 'I kind of went in there thinking, I've got something really precious that belongs to someone else. And like, it's going be really sad for her. She's going to be really emotional and thinking about her daughter who's not here and my daughter's here,' Yong said. 'But it wasn't like that at all.' 'When I first met her … I just wanted to hug Elaine,' Hill said. 'I felt connected immediately knowing that another mother got to raise their child. And that's what gave me so much happiness.' Hill, now 33, said their initial meeting went well because she'd made peace with Audrey's death, and she now shares her story to encourage others to consider donating organs at advocacy events. Yong is now 50. She said she was touched by the meeting and it inspired her to become an even stronger advocate for organ donation. In fact, she left a job in journalism to become a communications manager at her local organ donor organization, BC Transplant. The two moms say they communicate a few times a year and sometimes speak at conferences together about their transplant experience with Audrey and Addison. They consider each other to be family, which now includes Hill's two children and Addison's younger sister. Addison refers to Hill as 'Auntie Felicia' and sends her medals that she wins in track and swimming competitions. In 2018, Hill traveled to Vancouver to cheer on Addison in an event designed for transplant athletes, called the Canadian Transplant Games. At the end of April, both families will celebrate Audrey's birthday. She would have been 14 on April 30. And Hill plans to be in the stands when Addison competes in the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany, this summer. 'It's just really amazing to see that she (Addison) gets to live her life, and she is her own person,' Hill said. 'I like to say organ donation is like the ultimate act of love,' Yong said. 'This is like this most amazing gift that you don't know where it came from when you're giving it … you have no control over who it goes to, and you also have no idea what happens to it afterwards.' If you're interested in becoming an organ donor, you can register at your local department of motor vehicles, or DMV, or online at If you're an organ donor looking to connect with your transplant recipient or vice versa, your transplant center may be able to help.
CNN
23-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
A heart transplant recipient, 14, celebrates her birthday and her gift heart
When she was 3 weeks old, the left side of Addison McArthur's heart stopped functioning, and she was put on the top of British Columbia's transplant waiting list. Now, the Vancouver native just celebrated her 14th birthday in the middle of National Donate Life Month, which aims to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation. As Addison tells the story, the doctors said to her parents she's 'probably the sickest baby in Western Canada, if not all of Canada.'' Her parents, Elaine Yong and Aaron McArthur, would later learn she had left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy, which can cause heart problems like arrhythmias and heart failure. Addison's mom was shocked to learn her newborn — her firstborn — was in the middle of a life-or-death situation. 'I think as a new mom, you have all these preconceived ideas of what being a mom's going to be about (and) of what life's going to be like watching your child grow up,' said Yong, who was 36 at the time. 'Going through that transplant journey with Addison was such a … wow, you can't control everything. You can't control the way this is going to go.' A few days later, she received the call she had been hoping for. On Mother's Day of that year, the family's heart surgeon said he'd had found a heart for Addison. Yong was so grateful, but she couldn't do what she wanted to do: She couldn't thank the donor directly. Canada's transplant system, like its United States counterpart, keeps organ donor and transplant recipient ID information private. Addison is one of the lucky ones, as historically, the need for organs outpaces supply, and patients can languish for years on waiting lists. Nearly 50,000 transplants were performed in the US in 2024; in Canada, almost 3,500 transplants were performed in 2023, and those numbers are climbing in both countries. Currently, just over 100,000 people in the US and nearly 3,500 people in Canada are currently on transplant waiting lists. Many will likely die without the procedure. A single donor can save up to eight lives, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. But even when a transplant is successful, there's no guarantee that a donor's family and transplant recipient will meet, let alone maintain a relationship. National statistics on how many families of organ donors connect with their transplant recipients are hard to pin down in both the US and Canada, and the estimates are low. Hilary Kleine, vice president of communications and registry for Donate Life America, a national organ donation advocacy organization, said her organization is collecting this data. In the US, some local organ procurement organizations that help to recover organs keep that kind of data, like Donor Network West in California and Nevada and LiveOnNY in New York. In Canada, some organ donation organizations, such as BC Transplant in Vancouver, where Yong works, have a direct contact program that 'allows recipients and donor family members to move beyond anonymous communication.' Several organ donation experts, including Dr. Nick Murphy, an organ donation ethics researcher at Western University in London, Ontario, say that some donors and transplant recipients also connect independently online . 'It was something I always knew — that if I could meet the donor family, I would want to,' Elaine Yong said. She had not been private about the journey — she had been blogging about Addison's transplant to keep friends and family updated. After about a year, she sent a thank-you letter to the donor family through her transplant center, knowing some donors choose not to respond. To her great surprise, the other mother replied. 'It was the day of Addison's one-year heart anniversary party,' Yong recalled. 'I remember looking at the blog and, like, seeing someone had commented, 'I'm Addison's donor mom.'' 'She thought I was fake,' said Felicia Hill, who was 21 and living in Reno, Nevada, when she received Yong's letter. Hill looked her up online and found her blog. One year earlier, her baby girl, Audrey Jade Hope Sullenger, had died of unknown causes just six days after she was born. When Hill agreed to donate Audrey's organs, Audrey became the youngest organ donor in the state of Nevada that year. Her kidneys went to an adult woman and her heart went to Addison. Yong saw online that Hill had started doing advocacy work and that the dates matched. 'I saw that she had the letter that I had sent, and I knew, 100%, this is our donor mom.' Yong also confirmed Hill's story, noting via email, '(There were) a few people who were involved in the case who provided enough hints that really solidified it.' Over time, she said they started communicating, then became Facebook friends, and in 2013, the two women agreed to meet up with their families in Santa Clara, California, for a Donate Life Walk. Yong brought a stethoscope so Hill could listen to Audrey's heart in Addison's chest, and Hill brought Addison a T-shirt commemorating Audrey's memory. 'I kind of went in there thinking, I've got something really precious that belongs to someone else. And like, it's going be really sad for her. She's going to be really emotional and thinking about her daughter who's not here and my daughter's here,' Yong said. 'But it wasn't like that at all.' 'When I first met her … I just wanted to hug Elaine,' Hill said. 'I felt connected immediately knowing that another mother got to raise their child. And that's what gave me so much happiness.' Hill, now 33, said their initial meeting went well because she'd made peace with Audrey's death, and she now shares her story to encourage others to consider donating organs at advocacy events. Yong is now 50. She said she was touched by the meeting and it inspired her to become an even stronger advocate for organ donation. In fact, she left a job in journalism to become a communications manager at her local organ donor organization, BC Transplant. The two moms say they communicate a few times a year and sometimes speak at conferences together about their transplant experience with Audrey and Addison. They consider each other to be family, which now includes Hill's two children and Addison's younger sister. Addison refers to Hill as 'Auntie Felicia' and sends her medals that she wins in track and swimming competitions. In 2018, Hill traveled to Vancouver to cheer on Addison in an event designed for transplant athletes, called the Canadian Transplant Games. At the end of April, both families will celebrate Audrey's birthday. She would have been 14 on April 30. And Hill plans to be in the stands when Addison competes in the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany, this summer. 'It's just really amazing to see that she (Addison) gets to live her life, and she is her own person,' Hill said. 'I like to say organ donation is like the ultimate act of love,' Yong said. 'This is like this most amazing gift that you don't know where it came from when you're giving it … you have no control over who it goes to, and you also have no idea what happens to it afterwards.' If you're interested in becoming an organ donor, you can register at your local department of motor vehicles, or DMV, or online at If you're an organ donor looking to connect with your transplant recipient or vice versa, your transplant center may be able to help.
