Organ Donation News - Tennessee Donor Services

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Kassandra sits in front of a water fountain for an interview.

A double-lung transplant gave her new life. She pushed herself to complete an Ironman...

June 18, 2025

Kassandra Klemenz, a para-athlete who has cystic fibrosis, competed in the 70.3 Iron Man Triathlon in May 2025....

RV community raises $40K for organ...

June 11, 2025

A guest lecture nearly 25 years ago sparked a lasting partnership between Grand Design RV and Tennessee Donor Services, raising nearly $40,000 in the past four...

Tennessee Donor Services hosts donor remembrance...

June 9, 2025

Tennessee Donor Services held a heartfelt Donor Remembrance Ceremony to recognize the selfless Chattanooga-area organ donors who gave the gift of life....

TDS Hosts Donate Life Game with the Nashville...

May 23, 2025

Tennessee Donor Services partnered with the Nashville Sounds to host the Home Run for Life Game on Wednesday, May 21, during the Sounds’ matchup against the...

Donate Life Ceremony celebrates organ donors and their...

May 6, 2025

Seventy-one individuals donated their organs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2024, and they and their families were saluted on April 30 at the...

Tennessee Donor Services Celebrates National Donate Life Month During...

May 1, 2025

Each April, Tennessee Donor Services partners with Donate Life America to observe National Donate Life Month (NDLM). It features an entire month of local,...

Donate Life: Become An Organ...

April 29, 2025

National Donate Life Month is celebrated each April, a time to raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation and to encourage people to register as...

Williamson Health Donate Life Month Flag Raising Highlighted in...

April 22, 2025

Employees at Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, TN are flying high after their flag raising ceremony was highlighted in their internal newsletter during...

Celebrating National Kidney Month with the #BeTheGift Connections...

March 24, 2025

We hope these episodes will inform and inspire others to be the gift and save lives by registering at...

Tennessee Donor Services Saves Lives by the Numbers in...

February 5, 2025

Tennessee Donor Services (TDS) served 488 organ donor heroes whose gifts resulted in 1,371 lifesaving organ transplants in 2024. Every transplant, and the...

My experience… with an organ...

January 22, 2025

Becoming an organ donor is a way to offer a life-changing gift to others. Today, we’ll hear from Tennesseans who know this personally: a mother whose teenage...

Murfreesboro family’s Halloween tradition returns with heartwarming...

October 31, 2024

This year, one Murfreesboro family is honoring two beloved spooks who were touched by organ donations. Sadly, both individuals passed away this past year, but...

Tennessee Donor Services Receives Pinnacle Awards at Donate Life America...

October 30, 2024

Tennessee Donor Services was honored to receive FOUR Pinnacle Awards while attending the Donate Life America 2024 Annual Conference last week in Louisville,...

Tennessee Donor Services Celebrates the Gift of Life at the 2024 Transplant...

July 18, 2024

The 2024 Transplant Games of America were held in Birmingham, Alabama in early July. This biennial event recognizes the tremendous accomplishments of...

Transplant team finally succeeds in using controversial new organ recovery...

July 15, 2024

Many transplant programs are using a controversial procedure called normothermic regional perfusion to obtain organs from donors. After a donor is declared...

Picture of two people holding Donate Life Flag on top of Mount Kilimanjaro

Donor Sister Honors Brother on Mount...

May 1, 2024

Savanna Hill recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world. She...

Tennessee Donor Services Celebrates Donate Life...

May 1, 2024

April was National Donate Life Month, and the theme for 2024 was Donors are Super Stars! This theme was inspired by the night sky and the billions of stars...

Donor Remembrance...

April 30, 2024

Donor Remembrance Day is a day in which we all come together to honor and celebrate our Donor Heroes who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and...

DONATE LIFE HELPS ETSU BECOME ORGAN...

April 26, 2024

On April 15, 2024, Donate Life hosted a sign-up booth in the D.P. Culp Student Center from 1-4 p.m. The booth helped educate students on being an organ donor...

Local hospital hosts organ donor ceremony, honors those who...

April 26, 2024

JACKSON, Tenn. — A local hospital took time to honor those who have made selfless donations to help others continue to...

Father finds purpose in organ donation after death of...

April 26, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Knoxville man has made it his mission to help families receive organ donations after his son, who died in 2018, saved three lives...

Event promotes organ donation, celebrates donor...

April 26, 2024

BLOUNTVILLE — Friends and family of organ donors and recipients of donated organs gathered at Tri-Cities Airport on Wednesday afternoon to promote organ...

Ceremony held to honor donors and recipients of life-saving...

April 26, 2024

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Ballad Health, Tennessee Donor Services and organ recipients gathered Wednesday to celebrate those who have saved the lives of...

Organ donor recipients share their stories at Donate Life...

April 26, 2024

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WCYB) — According to Donate Life Tennessee, nearly 20 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant, and another person...

Erlanger, Tennessee Donor Services, and LifeShare Carolinas raised the “Donate Life” flag at Erlanger Western Carolina, Bledsoe, East, North, and Baroness Hospitals and Sequatchie Valley Emergency Department to recognize and honor the 50 patients who gave the ultimate gift of life as organ donors in 2023.

Donate Life Flag Raising Events Honor Erlanger’s 50 Organ Donors in...

April 25, 2024

Erlanger, Tennessee Donor Services, and LifeShare Carolinas raised the “Donate Life” flag at Erlanger Western Carolina, Bledsoe, East, North, and Baroness...

Sixty-nine individuals donated their organs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2023, and they and their families were saluted on April 17 at the annual Donate Life Ceremony.

Events honor those involved in organ...

April 24, 2024

Sixty-nine individuals donated their organs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2023, and they and their families were saluted on April 17 at the annual...

April is Donor Awareness Month, and the Tennessee Donor Services wants to let you know how easy it is to become an organ donor.

Help save a life by becoming an organ donor with Tennessee Donor...

April 17, 2024

April is Donor Awareness Month, and the Tennessee Donor Services wants to let you know how easy it is to become an organ...

In 2023, the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital experienced a record-breaking year with the number of lives saved through organ donations.

Jackson-Madison Co. makes record breaking year in lives saved by organ...

April 17, 2024

In 2023, the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital experienced a record-breaking year with the number of lives saved through organ...

Representatives from Tennessee Donor Services stopped by First at Four Thursday to share the impact organ donation has.

April is Donate Life...

April 17, 2024

Representatives from Tennessee Donor Services stopped by First at Four Thursday to share the impact organ donation...

According to organdonor.gov, only three in 1,000 people will die in a way that allows for deceased organ donation.

Lenoir City man uses personal tragedy to help...

April 17, 2024

Losing a loved one is never easy, but for some, in their toughest moments of loss, they find the strength to give others the greatest gift of...

January 2024: Johanna and Larry - Day of kidney transplant

Polk County breast cancer survivor gives the gift of...

April 9, 2024

On Friday Erlanger and Tennessee Donor Services hosted a Donor Remembrance Ceremony in recognition of Donate Life...

Kassandra Klemenz is a double lung transplant recipient who is urging everyone to be an organ donor.

Double-lung transplant recipient completes Knoxville...

April 9, 2024

The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is in the books and today many of those runners are basking in the glory of completing the race. For one of those...

Donor Remembrance...

April 8, 2024

Each year, Tennessee Donor Services partners with Erlanger Health for a Donor Remembrance Ceremony to honor our donor heroes....

The White House issues Proclamation for National Donate Life...

April 8, 2024

I often say that we are a good Nation because we are a good people, and during National Donate Life Month, we are reminded of why that is true as we celebrate...

Before Scot Pollard came to Vanderbilt for a heart transplant, he chose life over...

April 2, 2024

Ex-NBA player and Kansas basketball center Scot Pollard has a new outlook on life as he recovers from heart transplant surgery, which took place at Vanderbilt...

Greeneville parents receive floragraph to honor their son Dakota...

March 28, 2024

Dakota was able to save the lives of five people through tissue and eye...

TN Donor Services highlights the power of donation at Bristol Motor...

March 20, 2024

Tennessee Donor Services emphasized the significance of organ, eye and tissue donation during the NASCAR Cup event held at the Bristol Motor Speedway last...

Tennessee Matters Interview with Jill...

March 20, 2024

Did you know every organ donor can save up to eight lives and improve the lives of 75 more people through tissue donation? That's the message from Tennessee...

March is National Kidney...

March 12, 2024

March is National Kidney Month and to celebrate, we're highlighting influential individuals who were kidney patients, transplant recipients and donors....

Happy International Women’s...

March 8, 2024

To all the trailblazing women who have paved the way for progress, and to those who continue to champion equality and justice, Happy Women's Day! Your efforts...

Former NBA Center Celebrates Leaving Hospital 13 Days After...

March 4, 2024

Two weeks after receiving a heart transplant, former NBA center Scot Pollard is going home....

Tennessee had a record-breaking year in...

February 26, 2024

Every organ donor can save up to eight lives and improve the lives of 75 more people through tissue...

A Message for Scot...

February 26, 2024

Five Sacramento area heart transplant recipients have created a social media video congratulating former NBA player, Scot Pollard, who just received a heart...

2024 #BeTheGift...

February 23, 2024

On February 17, Tennessee basketball rivals, The University of Tennessee Volunteers and Vanderbilt University Commodores took to the courts to see who would be...

‘Ordinary Angels,’ Hilary Swank’s new movie celebrates the gift of...

February 21, 2024

“Ordinary Angels,” which hits theaters Feb. 23, tells the story of a determined hairdresser who rallies her community in Louisville, Kentucky, to save the...

Sharing Stories of Selflessness for National Donor...

February 14, 2024

National Donor Day is observed every year on February 14th. This day is dedicated to spreading awareness and education about organ, eye and tissue donation. On...

Tennessee man’s story of how two organ donors saved his...

February 6, 2024

Billy Jarvis was just 21 years old when he received a devastating diagnosis – he needed a full kidney transplant. Jarvis was a freshman at The University of...

Organ donations from TN residents at an all-time...

February 6, 2024

Tennessee Donor Services (TDS) had a record year in 2023, facilitating more than 1,000 organ transplants and registering more than 170,000 Tennesseans who...

Celebrating Black History...

February 1, 2024

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Jackie Robinson Tennessee Donor Services celebrates Black History Month by...

Tennessee Donor Services saves a RECORD-BREAKING number of lives in...

January 19, 2024

Tennessee Donor Services reached a record-breaking milestone in organ and tissue donation and transplantation. In 2023, we celebrated the impact of 506 donor...

2024 OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade...

January 4, 2024

We rang in the New Year with a celebration of life, remembering our donor heroes Dakota Sams and Frederick Jones and their selfless...

Highlighting Non-Profit...

December 28, 2023

BLANKETS FROM BEN Chris Kinsey knew that she wanted to create a lasting legacy for her son after his passing. His light shone so bright in life, how could it...

Tennessee Donor Services featured as WKRN’s Hometown...

December 20, 2023

WKRN News recently spotlighted TDS as their Hometown Hero for the week! They featured Raichon Morand, a lung transplant ambassador, and her sister. They both...

Remembering Jamar Burton and Darryl...

December 11, 2023

With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to our Team Tennessee Transplant Games team members, Darryl Collins (Lung Recipient) and Jamar Burton (Kidney Recipient)....

Dakota Sams, Organ Recipient And Donor, To Be...

December 8, 2023

Dakota Sams will be honored at the Rose Bowl Parade in January. To honor him, a floragraph made of flowers to look like a portrait of him, as well as...

Tennessee’s First-of-its-Kind Donor Care Unit Opens at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital...

December 8, 2023

This fall, Tennessee Donor Services (TDS) and Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West unveiled a collaborative Donor Care Unit at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital...

November is National Eye Donation...

November 15, 2023

November is Eye Donation Month! Help raise awareness about cornea donation and transplantation, honor the gift of sight given by donors and their families,...

National Donor...

November 7, 2023

Donor Sabbath is an annual nationwide observance, celebrated on November 10-12 this year, which aims at increasing awareness about the lifesaving gift of...

Few transplant surgeons are Black. Giving medical students a rare peek at organ donation may...

October 30, 2023

Fresh off their first year at Meharry Medical College, six students spent the summer shadowing Tennessee Donor Services to learn the complex steps that make...

Celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness...

October 16, 2023

No matter who you are or where you live, breast cancer has impacted your life in some way. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which aims to promote...

9/11 attacks nearly kept a life-saving organ from an infant. Here’s how we met the...

September 27, 2023

DCI Donor Services has never forgotten the lessons learned from the 2001 mission to transport a life-saving organ when all air traffic was...

Tennessee Driver and Donor Services Share Need for Organ And Tissue...

September 8, 2023

Tennessee Donor Services and talks to News Channel 4 about the need for organ and tissue...

Nonprofit strives to serve Tennesseans through organ, tissue...

September 7, 2023

TDS saves and improves lives by connecting lifesaving organ, eye and tissue donations to the patients who need...

First of Its Kind Medical Program...

July 27, 2023

History is made in the Tennessee Donor Services building as two revered medical institutions join forces to establish a program that is the first of its kind...

New campaign launched for Tennessee County Clerks Organ Donor Awareness...

July 21, 2023

...

Meharry Students to Present Organ Donation Research at Tennessee Donor...

July 20, 2023

Meharry Medical College and Tennessee Donor Services (TDS) are celebrating the nation’s first TDS-Meharry program, which seeks to address disparities in...

Good News: At 58, she’ll hit the runway to show her gratitude for her...

June 2, 2023

Cleek will be in O'More College's annual Fashion Show at Belmont University, which this year features five other organ recipients or organ donor family members...

Tennessee organ donation models walk the O’More runway of...

May 10, 2023

Stories of hope abound during fashion event reminding all of their strength, beauty and...

How Belmont students are finding a fashionable way to raise awareness about organ...

March 1, 2023

Belmont University's O'More College is hosting a fashion show, this one promoting organ...

Healthcare workers race against time to facilitate organ transplants, but more can be...

February 20, 2023

DCI Donor Services is critical when it comes to facilitating timely organ...

Tennessee Donor Services Saves 1,129 Lives from a Record-breaking 445 Donors in...

February 15, 2023

NASHVILLE, TENN. — February 15, 2023: Tennessee Donor Services (TDS) announces a record-breaking year for organ and tissue donation in Tennessee. Organ...

Canceled flights and weather causes issues for organ...

January 13, 2023

Winter storms and the FAA grounding all flights could be the difference in a life or death...

Be the Gift Campaign during the Vols and Vandy basketball...

January 9, 2023

The UT & VU teams have a challenge for you. They have a goal of registering 125,000 new Tennesseans as organ and tissue donors for the year and they need your...

Sisters celebrate anniversary of kidney donation that’s lasted a remarkable 50...

December 30, 2022

Carolyn Rogers donated her kidney to her sister, Patti, in September...

West Tennessee woman in need of kidney...

December 20, 2022

And after being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, one West Tennessee woman joined the fight and waitlist for one of the most needed...

‘A priceless gift’: A local woman shares her story surrounding the impact of organ...

December 19, 2022

After being told by doctors Edwards would not make it. Humphrey says she was prepared to answer the call to donate his...

She gave a kidney to save her sister’s life. An unlikely 50 years later, they’re still...

November 21, 2022

In the early 1970s, about half of transplanted kidneys were rejected by recipients − but Patti Harris has lived a half century with her sister's...

Tennessee Donor Services surpasses goal for new organ...

October 1, 2022

Tennessee Donor Services announced this week that it registered 107,000 new organ and tissue donors in Tennessee last year, surpassing its goal of adding...

The pain of the waitlist: What it’s like to wait for a kidney transplant at...

September 22, 2022

When most people think about organ donation, it involves an end-of-life decision. But more than ever, there is a need for living donors. Kidney donations are...

Two hearts in one decade: 10-year-old gifted new chance at life thanks to organ...

September 21, 2022

This month, the United States marked one million lifesaving organ transplants — a world record. Part of the unique club of transplant recipients is Paul...

He died in a motorcycle crash at 18. But his body gave someone else new...

September 21, 2022

Gavin Cole, 18, signed up to be an organ donor when adding a motorcycle certification to his driver's license. It was just four months before he died. A driver...

The Gift: An in-depth look at organ...

September 19, 2022

This month, the United States hit a milestone — a world record, in fact: one million organ transplants. And behind each one is a story. We’re taking an...

Fix inequity of Black people being overrepresented on organ transplant...

September 19, 2022

The good news is the nation’s organ donation and transplant system recently has recommitted itself to making the system more equitable, particularly for...

Local man encourages minority donors after receiving a second chance at life with kidney...

August 28, 2022

He contacted Tennessee Donor Services which helped guide him through the process of getting a new kidney. But Bryant says he received more than a kidney - he...

Local mother shares how son’s organ donation saved four...

August 22, 2022

"Talking with Jonathan and getting educated on it, because we knew nothing about it, it made us feel good for what he had to say because he really showed us...

History in the making: Sumner County designated nation’s first-ever Donate Life...

June 17, 2022

Through creative social challenges like #BeTheGift and community involvement, TDS hopes to challenge more Tennesseans to register to donate each...

“Your son is in kidney failure, oh he’s only got one kidney“ | Newport teen in need of a kidney...

June 8, 2022

Life was normal for 19-year-old Patrick Scott Velez, and then he found out he was born with only one kidney and that it was...

Tennessee County Clerk Tour Of Quilts To Honor Organ And Tissue...

February 1, 2022

Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles announces his office is partnering with Tennessee Donor Services for the 2022 Tennessee County Clerk Tour of Quilts to honor...

You have the opportunity to save lives. Register as an organ and tissue donor |...

January 31, 2022

For nearly 14 years, I have been a transplant surgeon. This often means that unless I am out of town, I am on call nearly every day. While this may seem...

Donate Life TN announces record-breaking year of organ and tissue...

January 19, 2022

Donate Life TN announces record-breaking year of organ and tissue...

TDS news and

events

A double-lung transplant gave her new life. She pushed herself to complete an Ironman...

RV community raises $40K for organ...

Tennessee Donor Services hosts donor remembrance...

TDS Hosts Donate Life Game with the Nashville...

Donate Life Ceremony celebrates organ donors and their...

Tennessee Donor Services Celebrates National Donate Life Month During...

Donate Life: Become An Organ...

Williamson Health Donate Life Month Flag Raising Highlighted in...

Celebrating National Kidney Month with the #BeTheGift Connections...

Tennessee Donor Services Saves Lives by the Numbers in...

My experience… with an organ...

Murfreesboro family’s Halloween tradition returns with heartwarming...

Tennessee Donor Services Receives Pinnacle Awards at Donate Life America...

Tennessee Donor Services Celebrates the Gift of Life at the 2024 Transplant...

Transplant team finally succeeds in using controversial new organ recovery...

Donor Sister Honors Brother on Mount...

Tennessee Donor Services Celebrates Donate Life...

Donor Remembrance...

DONATE LIFE HELPS ETSU BECOME ORGAN...

Local hospital hosts organ donor ceremony, honors those who...

Father finds purpose in organ donation after death of...

Event promotes organ donation, celebrates donor...

Ceremony held to honor donors and recipients of life-saving...

Organ donor recipients share their stories at Donate Life...

Donate Life Flag Raising Events Honor Erlanger’s 50 Organ Donors in...

Events honor those involved in organ...

Help save a life by becoming an organ donor with Tennessee Donor...

Jackson-Madison Co. makes record breaking year in lives saved by organ...

April is Donate Life...

Lenoir City man uses personal tragedy to help...

Polk County breast cancer survivor gives the gift of...

Double-lung transplant recipient completes Knoxville...

Donor Remembrance...

The White House issues Proclamation for National Donate Life...

Before Scot Pollard came to Vanderbilt for a heart transplant, he chose life over...

Greeneville parents receive floragraph to honor their son Dakota...

TN Donor Services highlights the power of donation at Bristol Motor...

Tennessee Matters Interview with Jill...

March is National Kidney...

Happy International Women’s...

Former NBA Center Celebrates Leaving Hospital 13 Days After...

Tennessee had a record-breaking year in...

A Message for Scot...

2024 #BeTheGift...

‘Ordinary Angels,’ Hilary Swank’s new movie celebrates the gift of...

Sharing Stories of Selflessness for National Donor...

Tennessee man’s story of how two organ donors saved his...

Organ donations from TN residents at an all-time...

Celebrating Black History...

Tennessee Donor Services saves a RECORD-BREAKING number of lives in...

2024 OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade...

Highlighting Non-Profit...

Tennessee Donor Services featured as WKRN’s Hometown...

Remembering Jamar Burton and Darryl...

Dakota Sams, Organ Recipient And Donor, To Be...

Tennessee’s First-of-its-Kind Donor Care Unit Opens at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital...

November is National Eye Donation...

National Donor...

Few transplant surgeons are Black. Giving medical students a rare peek at organ donation may...

Celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness...

9/11 attacks nearly kept a life-saving organ from an infant. Here’s how we met the...

Tennessee Driver and Donor Services Share Need for Organ And Tissue...

Nonprofit strives to serve Tennesseans through organ, tissue...

First of Its Kind Medical Program...

New campaign launched for Tennessee County Clerks Organ Donor Awareness...

Meharry Students to Present Organ Donation Research at Tennessee Donor...

Good News: At 58, she’ll hit the runway to show her gratitude for her...

Tennessee organ donation models walk the O’More runway of...

How Belmont students are finding a fashionable way to raise awareness about organ...

Healthcare workers race against time to facilitate organ transplants, but more can be...

Tennessee Donor Services Saves 1,129 Lives from a Record-breaking 445 Donors in...

Canceled flights and weather causes issues for organ...

Be the Gift Campaign during the Vols and Vandy basketball...

Sisters celebrate anniversary of kidney donation that’s lasted a remarkable 50...

West Tennessee woman in need of kidney...

‘A priceless gift’: A local woman shares her story surrounding the impact of organ...

She gave a kidney to save her sister’s life. An unlikely 50 years later, they’re still...

Tennessee Donor Services surpasses goal for new organ...