Local Woman Marks 15 Years Since kidney transplant, Urges Latino Donor Registration
USA: A Las Vegas woman is marking 15 years since a life-saving kidney transplant and has turned that milestone into a public crusade to dismantle myths that keep many in the Latino community from registering as organ donors. The transplantation not only restored her health but rewired her life trajectory — from daily survival to competing internationally and volunteering with the Nevada Donor Network to promote donation and education.
After the transplant, she immediately took action to promote donation, signing up at the DMV and later dedicating time to outreach. Federal data underscore the urgency she highlights: Latinos account for nearly a quarter of people on organ transplant waiting lists while far fewer are registered as donors. She has made correcting cultural misperceptions about organ donation central to her advocacy, framing the transplant as a second chance that reshaped how she thinks about giving and receiving organs and tissues.
The recipient credits a donor’s sacrifice with giving her back full, active life. She now competes with Team USA in the World Transplant Games and lives an engaged, athletic life she says would not have been possible without transplantation. Her volunteer work with the Nevada Donor Network focuses on community conversations, dispelling fears about medical care, eligibility, and the logistics of donation and procurement, and explaining the concrete steps to register.
Her message is urgent and practical: transplantation saves lives and communities need more registered donors to match those waiting. By sharing a personal arc from sick patient to athlete and advocate, she aims to convert hesitation into action and to ensure that cultural misconceptions no longer stand between donors and recipients.
Video originally published on 2026-02-03 01:57:05
