"I want to thank my donor family and tell them I am in debt to them for something I could never repay. I want to show them all the gratitude I can," says Andy Hart, heart transplant recipient.

In 2008, Andy was diagnosed with a genetic condition: cardiomyopathy. Andy shares the condition with his father and twin brother. Andy had a pacemaker put in after his diagnosis and life went on as normal.

Last year, Andy began to get sick. He received a heart transplant in December of 2022 and recently received a kidney transplant on August 28, 2023. After the long months of being away from home and staying hopeful, Andy and Brittany (wife) say, "Everything is going just amazing!"

When Andy and Brittany got home, their four kids were eagerly waiting to see them. "That was very special," said Andy. "That was the hardest thing was being away from them for four months." Andy and Brittany's four kids are always on the move with sports all year round, and they are happy to be back cheering them on!

This year, 108 names were engraved on our Memorial Wall along with 1 garden bench to honor those who selflessly saved and healed lives through organ, eye and tissue donation.

Every year since 2015, we've gathered together with donor families, friends and community in our Healing Garden. Donor families whose loved one's names were engraved this year received an invitation to attend a ceremony, to be held in the Healing Garden, later this month.

The Healing Garden is accessible 24/7, and you're welcome to visit at a time that is convenient for you. To learn more about the Healing Garden or to submit an inscription for next year's engraving, go to bit. ly/44WAOLd.

Thanks to a liver transplant 10 years ago, Charlie was more than ready for his first day of 5th grade!

Charlie has spent the summer relaxing at home, spending time with family, playing video games and having sleepovers with his friends. But, he is ready to get back to school!

Charlie enjoys learning but especially enjoys his best subject, math.

Charlie received a liver transplant due to an inherited genetic condition, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. Sarah, Charlie's mother, was shocked by the news that he would be put on the waiting list for a transplant. When there was news that he would receive a gift, Sarah said she was "overcome with grief for the family" whose loved one's gift saved her son's life.

Thank you for joining LifeSource, National Kidney Foundation, and Be The Match for Donate Life Day!

We loved seeing new and familiar faces as we brought the community together for a night of spreading awareness for donation.

Thank you to the @twins for featuring our mission of saving lives and the people who make it possible. It was a great night for a win by the Twins!

LifeSource is excited to announce a collaboration with Mayo Clinic and M Health Fairview to create a system of "Donor Care Units" to increase the number of lives saved through organ donation in the upper Midwest. Thank you to Star Tribune for covering the announcement (link in bio).

Donor care units (DCU) are dedicated clinical facilities focused on providing optimal and efficient care of organ donors prior to organ donation as well as the most advanced organ recovery techniques, which can improve the opportunities for organs to be successfully transplanted into waiting recipients. LifeSource serves Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and western Wisconsin; organ donors from all three states may be transferred to either DCU location (Twin Cities or Rochester, MN).

"LifeSource is thrilled to be collaborating with two leading healthcare systems in our region to save more lives through these Donor Care Units, said Kelly White, LifeSource CEO.

"These dedicated facilities will benefit donor families and waiting recipients along with hospitals and transplant centers."

Our team continues to grow! Please join us in welcoming our newest team members:

Left to right:

Dan J. - Tissue Recovery Coordinator

Jordan M. - Tissue Recovery Coordinator

Eve H. - Donation Coordinator

A donated heart was flown 2,506 miles to a waiting patient from Alaska to Boston — a transplant record!

Read the story: https://bit.ly/43pOFhd

Thanks to medical innovations, this is possible. So, how long can an organ be outside the body before transplant? It depends on the organ:

Heart: 4 - 6 hours

Lungs: 4 - 8 hours

Liver: 8 - 12 hours

Pancreas: 12 - 18 hours

Intestines: 8 - 16 hours

Kidneys: 24 - 36 hours

On October 11, 2014, Lily's dad received a kidney and pancreas transplant, freeing him of a life dominated by diabetes and kidney disease. Because of an organ donor, Lily can make memories with her dad.

"It's a second chance at life given to me by someone who didn't even know my name. Someone who unfortunately lost his life way too soon but made the choice to impact someone else's for whom they didn't even know. This gift allows me to be here for my wife and our two children and continue to spread the word for the benefits of organ donation." -Ryan, Lily's dad. #DonateLife

Story credit: @DonateLifeAmerica Blue & Green Day photo contest

Jessica Dominguez, a proud Latina podcaster and member of the LGBTQIA+ community, is no stranger to organ donation. She has always been an avid supporter of it and believes, "Donation is an act of love.

Among us, we can help us. If I have to leave a legacy in this world when I'm gone, I want to see other lives changed based on what I was once blessed with." Like many who become donors, Jessica had no idea that she too would be given the chance to carry out someone else's legacy.

For as long as she could remember Jessica has struggled with severe breathing difficulties due to a deviated septum.

"People have no idea how much it can affect you," Jessica attests, "But, take into consideration the fact that breathing is life." For years, she was plagued with frequent headaches, exhaustion, congestion, and extreme sleep deprivation.

These side-effects made it incredibly difficult for her to take part in the things she loves like swimming, running, and content-creating.

After enduring one failed surgery, due to lack of her own tissue, Jessica received a rhinoplasty that completely transformed her life. The donor cartilage she received during surgery, gave her the opportunity to, as she says, "feel alive again." Prior to the procedure, Jessica's surgeon told her that there would likely be a ten to fifteen percent improvement in her breathing. Post-op, Jessica reports that her breathing has improved by over ninety percent! She can now run, jump, laugh, and record her podcast without her deviated septum getting in the way. To her donor family, she lovingly says,

"God bless you, and God bless your loved one. You are extremely brave for allowing them to help others in this way.

I'm so thankful and hope that he, or she, is resting in peace."

"This afternoon there are going to be people with new hearts, new lungs, and new kidneys, and a whole new lease on life from the gift that our son Joe made." Read the story: https://bit.ly/3CamZkq

17-year-old Joseph Stagnaro passed away on Tuesday, May

30 from an undiagnosed condition. Donation was never a question for Stagnaro as he will be changing the lives of people across the country. "It's heartbreaking any time someone loses a life, but Joseph Stagnaro's memory will live on in all the people he helped save."

Created to celebrate organ, eye and tissue donors and their families; the Healing Garden at LifeSource Headquarters serves as a peaceful and reflective gathering space along the beautiful Mississippi River, continuously blooming in spring, summer and fall. The Memorial Wall and Garden Benches are engraved annually (2023 engraving happening in August!) to honor organ, eye and tissue donors.

It is accessible 24/7, and you're welcome to visit at a time that is convenient for you. Link in bio to learn more about the Healing Garden or to submit an inscription for next year's engraving.