Stories of Hope

Pancreas patients

T1D free!

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1990 when I was 6 years old. I had for the most part taken very good care of myself, and I never let T1D hold me back. In 2016 I was told that my kidneys had begun to spill protein (proteinuria), but that they still were 100% functioning, that I did not have kidney disease, and that the kidneys could be saved with a pancreas- only transplant

Heather Hazlett of Waxhaw, NC

Eye, Kidney, Pancreas, Transplant recipient

My path in life took a bit of a twist when I was just 2 years old and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. As I grew up I never imagined I would find myself the way I am today. For my incredible miracles because of selfless donation I am forever grateful! In my junior year...

Kathryn Smith of Miami, FL

Intestine, Kidney, Liver, Pancreas, Transplant recipient

My story begins my junior year of high school. I was always a healthy child but I suddenly became severely ill at the young age of 17 when doctors diagnosed me with idiopathic autoimmune hepatitis that had left me with only 25% liver function and determined that I...

Mary Magee-Huth of Channahon, IL

Kidney, Pancreas, Transplant recipient

At age 11 I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes, often called juvenile onset diabetes at the time. I was drinking water constantly and losing weight off my already small frame. When the teacher had had it with me asking to go to the bathroom several times each day she...