Medical City Fort Worth patient encourages organ donor registration during Donate Life Month
Fort Worth, TX – On March 10, Shannon Catalano, along with 21 other kidney donor athletes, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. This hike, in advance of April Donate Life Month, aimed to bring attention to the need for living kidney donors and prove that those who donate can be healthy and thrive.
Catalano donated her kidney on May 2, 2018, at Medical City Fort Worth. She knew at a young age that she might one day need to donate a kidney to her brother after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Decades later, she decided to donate her kidney to a stranger as her brother’s kidneys were healthy and performing well.
“I participated in this climb because I love a challenge and it supports a cause that has
been life-changing for me in all the best ways,” says Catalano. “I was thrilled and honored to be selected to join fellow donors on this important mission to show the world that life with one kidney is just as good as two!”
The trek and its lifesaving message were covered by multiple media outlets, including Good Morning America.
Medical City Fort Worth is recognized by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) as the top kidney transplant program in the state for short wait times for deceased donors. Patients on the transplant list at Medical City Fort Worth wait an average of 7.4 months compared to 37.4 months nationally.
“Living kidney donation is the best option for those waiting on the transplant list,” says transplant nephrologist Sridhar Allam, MD, medical director of the kidney transplant program at Medical City Fort Worth. “Not only are the organs longer-lasting, but recipients can be immediately transplanted once a matching donor is identified instead of having to wait on a deceased donor list.”
National Donate Life Month (NDLM) was established by Donate Life America and its partner organizations in 2003. Observed in April each year, National Donate Life Month helps raise awareness about donation, encourages Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors, and honors those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.
As part of HCA Healthcare and Medical City Healthcare, Medical City Fort Worth is also a member of the Living Donor Circle of Excellence. This program, an initiative from of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), celebrates employers who implement internal policies that provide salary support to their employees who choose to be a living organ donor.
For more information about transplant services at Medical City Fort Worth, visit MedicalCityFortWorth.com/transplantservices.