Donate Life Month: Donor Connect Highlights 27-Year Liver And Kidney Outcome And A Living Kidney Donor Story

Portneuf Medical Center Marks Donate Life Month As liver And kidney Transplants Spotlighted

USA: Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello raised a Donate Life flag and held a proclamation ceremony declaring April Donate Life Month, underscoring local efforts to promote organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Mayor Mark Dawquist read the proclamation as hospital staff, donor families and transplant recipients gathered to recognize the impact of donation and procurement.

One featured speaker, Tina Watson, described a lifetime shaped by transplantation. Born with a condition that impaired both liver and kidney function, she received a liver and kidney transplant 27 years ago after a donor’s decision on her driver’s license and family consent enabled organ procurement. Watson said the transplantation allowed her to marry, watch nieces and nephews grow, travel and build a lasting relationship with her donor’s family after meeting them 12 years ago.

Amber Davis highlighted another thread of donation: living kidney donation and community generosity. While not a recipient herself, she volunteers with Donor Connect and recounted her husband’s two kidney transplants—first in 1998 and a second in 2011 from a living donor who stepped forward from their church. That transplant restored family life, allowing their children to grow and bringing the family to milestones including a recent grandchild.

Organ and tissue transplantation was the central theme of the ceremony, with organizers urging residents to learn about registration and the procurement process. The event aimed to translate gratitude into action by encouraging donor registrations and community conversations that can lead to more lifesaving transplants.

Video originally published on 2026-04-10 09:43:07