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Donor Remembrance Ceremony

April 8, 2024

Each year, Tennessee Donor Services partners with Erlanger Health for a Donor Remembrance Ceremony to honor our donor heroes who gave the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.

Marcheta Darnell – mother of Donor Hero Sam Darnell, Larry Fowler – kidney recipient, Johana Carden – living donor

Thank you to Marcheta Darnell, mother of Donor Hero Sam Darnell, who shared how Sam’s decision to be an organ donor was honored and his legacy lives on.
We also appreciate living donor Johana Carden and recipient Larry Fowler sharing how their friendship led to Johanna giving Larry a kidney!

This year, as the tributes to our donor heroes were read, family members took part by layering colored sand to form a beautiful homage to their loved ones!

In addition to donor families and transplant recipients, community and state leaders came out to honor those who have given the gift of life so others may live. We’d like to thank Senator Todd Gardenhire, Representative Esther Helton-Haynes, and Representative Yusuf Hakeem for their continued support of donation and transplantation.

Senator Todd Gardenhire, Marcheta Darnell – Donor Mom, Representative Yusuf Hakeem, Representative Esther Helton-Haynes, Living Donor Johana Carden and Recipient Larry Fowler

We honor all donor heroes and their families and celebrate second chances with recipients and their loved ones.

About Tennessee Donor Services

An Extraordinary Commitment to Science, Health, and Hope

Tennessee Donor Services a non-profit, organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to saving and improving lives by connecting organ and tissue donations to the patients who need them. TDS serves nearly five and a half million people in Tennessee and Virginia.

#BeTheGift that saves lives!

When you register as an organ, eye and tissue donor, you leave a lasting legacy and bring hope to those waiting.

To access the National Registry, click here.