Explore Transplant

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Explore Transplant

Guided by Amy Waterman, PhD, Explore Transplant (ET) is a national consortium of the leading experts

Explore Transplant helps patients with kidney failure, families, friends, living donors and providers understand all of the available transplant options in order to make the most informed healthcare decisions. Our educational programs are available for organizations serving kidney patients and families directly. Founded by Dr. Amy Waterman, one of the nation’s leading experts in transplant education, Explore Transplant’s programs and training seminars have benefited tens of thousands of kidney patients served by more than 120 transplant centers and 3,000 dialysis centers since 2009.

02/21/2026

✨ Meet Dana , 17 years post–heart transplant and still going strong.

Before her heart transplant, Dana lived with an LVAD, a machine that kept her alive, but also placed strict limits on everyday life. No showers. No driving. No heat. Batteries, alarms, and constant monitoring. Even being alone wasn’t an option.

Breathing was hard. Fluid filled her lungs. Life revolved around survival.

Then came the transplant.

After receiving a new heart, Dana experienced freedom again, freedom to move, breathe, exercise, and live fully. Today, she’s active, working, and proudly competing with Team Texas at the Transplant Games of America, helping raise awareness for organ donation and celebrating life alongside other recipients, donors, and donor families.

Her journey wasn’t easy. From years on mechanical support to navigating lifelong medications and financial challenges, Dana’s strength was fueled by her family and her faith.

💬 “This heart gave me my life back, and I honor it every day by staying active and giving back.”

👉 Watch Dana’s inspiring story and explore more real-life journeys of resilience and hope at Healthstories4u.org

02/19/2026

💚 Meet Teresa.

She’s a wife, mom, Mimi, college professor, and Sunday school teacher, and she’s also living with stage 4 kidney disease due to polycystic kidney disease.

Teresa is searching for a living kidney donor so she can receive a transplant before dialysis and continue teaching, serving, and spending time with her family.

Her thought: “Dialysis would completely change my way of life, and I hope to avoid it.”

You can help by:
✔️ Learning about living donation
✔️ Sharing her story
✔️ Spreading awareness

💚 If you are interested in learning more about living kidney donation, please visit:
LivingDonationStories.org & ExploreTransplant.org

Even sharing Teresa’s story could help save her life.

02/16/2026

✨ Meet Charles, 17 months post–heart transplant and moving forward one faithful step at a time.

What started as what he thought was acid reflux turned into a life-changing diagnosis. Today, Charles can walk over a mile a day, exercise again, and, most importantly, spend quality time with his daughter without pain.

“The hardest part wasn’t surgery, it was learning to be still.”

Through moments of uncertainty, quarantine, and emotional healing, Charles leaned on:
🙏 His faith
👨‍👧 His daughter
🏥 An incredible care team

When the call came, his daughter answered first:
📞 “Dad, they found a heart.”

A true reminder that healing takes time, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

💖 Thank you to donors, donor families, and care teams who make second chances possible.

👉 Watch Charles's story and discover how transplantation offers a second chance in life at Healthstories4u.org

02/16/2026

In honor of President’s Day, we wish you a great Monday!

02/14/2026

Love looks different for everyone, and all of it matters ❤️
Happy Valentine’s Day from yours truly, ExploreTransplant.org

02/14/2026

✨ Meet Doug, proof that it’s never too late for a second chance.

For four years, Doug’s life revolved around dialysis, three times a week, four hours at a time. Kidney failure meant planning everything around treatment, energy limits, and long days in a chair. Still, Doug kept moving, walking 1–2 miles a day and staying active to make dialysis easier.

What kept him going?
💚 His dream of enjoying retirement
💚 Watching his grandchildren grow
💚 Caring for his special-needs son

Then came an extraordinary gift: a living kidney donation from his sister. A perfect 6/6 match.

After transplant, everything changed. More energy. Better sleep. A healthy appetite. A quality of life Doug describes as 150–200% better. While the journey included challenges and setbacks, perseverance, family support, and a positive mindset made all the difference.

💬 “A good attitude is a must. Follow the plan, lean on family, and enjoy each day.”

👉 Watch Doug’s full story and explore more living donor journeys that show what’s possible at livingdonationstories.org

02/11/2026

✨ Meet John, a heart transplant gave him a second chance at life.

John lived with heart disease his entire life. What began as a heart murmur in his youth never went away, and by age 50, his heart was failing. Simple moments with his children became exhausting. Breathing was hard. Energy was scarce.

In 2015, John’s heart function dropped to just 40%, and he was placed on a life-support machine while waiting for a transplant. Doctors told him he might wait six months. Instead, after two long months, the call came.

📞 “We have a heart for you.”

At 55 years old, John received the gift of a 25-year-old heart, after overcoming cancer treatment, lung surgery, and intense medical evaluations just to stay eligible. Through it all, his faith carried him.

Today, John walks, exercises, eats healthier, and lives with a strength he never knew before. His message is one of gratitude, for his donor, his care team, and a higher power that carried him through the waiting.

💬 “Someone gave so that I could live. I cherish this heart every single day.”

👉 Watch John’s powerful story and discover more journeys of hope, faith, and second chances at Healthstories4u.org

02/06/2026

✨ Meet Mekhayel: 10 years post–kidney transplant and full of gratitude.

Before transplant, Mekhayel's kidney disease slowly changed his life. Dialysis took time, energy, and moments away from family, and left him feeling physically drained. But through it all, faith, family, and perseverance carried him forward.

When the call finally came, everything changed.

🚀 “It felt like someone put two rockets inside me.”
Energy returned. Hope surged. Life opened back up.

Today, Mekhayel is living proof of what a transplant can do, restoring not just health, but time, connection, and joy. He credits his wife, daughter, loved ones, and the incredible transplant care team for helping make this second chance possible.

👉 Watch Mekhayel's story and others like his through our Healthstories4u.org and see how transplant transforms lives.

02/04/2026

💚 Meet Jullie: 5.5 years post–kidney transplant and thriving.

Diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at just 26, Jullie spent more than two decades living fully, working, creating pottery, and staying active, before she ever needed a transplant. Because she received a preemptive kidney transplant (before dialysis), she was able to protect her health and step into a new chapter with strength and hope.

Her journey wasn’t without challenges. Jullie went home from transplant just as the country shut down for the pandemic, protecting her pediatric block kidneys and navigating recovery in isolation. Through it all, peer support, family, and staying connected to others with kidney disease helped carry her forward.

Today, Jullie feels good. She has energy, warmth in her hands and feet again, a career she loves, and deep gratitude for the gift of transplant.

✨ Her message to others waiting?
Stay ready. Stay connected. Share your story. And keep hope alive.

👉 Watch Jullie’s story and others like hers through our Healthstories4u.org

02/03/2026

✨ Meet Michelle, 2 years living with an LVAD and reclaiming her life.

In her early 20s, Michelle was climbing, riding roller coasters, and living life at full speed, until heart failure changed everything overnight. With limited treatment options and unexpected reactions to medications, she faced a difficult decision: move forward with an LVAD or remain tied to a hospital bed.

She chose the LVAD, not because it was easy, but because it gave her a chance to live again.

Recovery was tough. Humbling. Emotional. Learning to sit up, stand, and care for herself again took months, and a village of family and friends who reminded her: you are not a burden, you are surviving.

Today, Michelle is running up stairs, doing laundry, living independently, and sharing her story so others don’t have to walk into this journey alone.

💬 “I wish I had heard from someone my age. If this helps even one person, it’s worth it.”

👉 Watch Michelle’s story and others like hers, and learn how support, resilience, and hope carry people forward at Healthstories4u.org

01/30/2026

💚 Meet Dr. Valinda Bell-Jones, DNP, RN — from transplant recipient to trailblazer in peer support.

A living donor kidney transplant recipient, DNP-prepared nurse, and national advocate, Dr. Bell-Jones is transforming lived experience into lasting impact. After earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice in December 2025, she partnered with Dr. Amy Waterman’s Patient Engagement (PE) Lab to design a Kidney Transplant Peer Mentor Educational Intervention—a project rooted in compassion, evidence, and patient empowerment.

✨ Her vision?
Peer support as a standard of care.
Education that meets patients where they are.
And transplant systems that center lived experience alongside clinical excellence.

From joining a kidney chain to serving as Vice President of the OPTN Board of Directors, Dr. Bell-Jones continues to lead with purpose—bridging advocacy, research, and real-world change.

📣 Her advice to future collaborators: “Just do it.”

Read her full blog here: https://exploretransplant.org/meet-dr-valinda-bell-jones-dnp-rn-from-transplant-recipient-to-trailblazer-in-peer-support/

01/19/2026

💚 Meet Jane — a living kidney donor who gave the gift of life to a complete stranger.

After reading a newspaper article, Jane asked herself a simple but powerful question: “Why not?”
Healthy, informed, and full of compassion, she chose to donate her left kidney in 2018—because she believed everyone deserves a little luck in life.

✨ Her life after donation?
Just as full as before. Kayaking. Biking. Running a 5K. And living proof that living donation can be safe, supported, and deeply meaningful.

Jane’s message is simple:

If we all help someone a little—or a lot—the world becomes a better place.

🎥 Watch Jane’s full story and others like hers through the LivingDonationStorytellingProject.com and see how everyday people are making extraordinary impact.

Address

Houston, TX
77030

Website

http://www.exploretransplant.org/, https://livingdonationstories.org/

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