A donation of love times two

Two families and the power of transplants

On a sunny day in April, a crowd gathered at Keck Medical Center of USC to raise the Donate Life flag in appreciation of those who have donated an organ to people in need of a transplant.

Among the 100 individuals present were two sets of father-daughters — strangers to each other — who shared a similar experience.

One father donated a kidney so his daughter could receive a healthy one; and one daughter gave a kidney to her father. All four surgeries were performed by our transplant surgeons at Keck Hospital of USC. These families’ stories provide a glimpse of the love and hope that make transplantation perhaps the most profound gift of all.

A gift from the youngest in the family

Joanna Herrera, 36, was motivated to donate a kidney to her father, Juan, 67, after watching his kidneys deteriorate over 15 years due to polycystic kidney disease, a genetic illness causing damaging cysts to grow in the kidneys. When she was found to be a match, her father hesitated moving forward; she was his “baby,” the youngest of three, and he wanted to protect her.

Joanna finally convinced him, reassuring him that the procedure was safe, and that this was her way of thanking him for bringing her into the world. In February, she donated her left kidney to Juan, who is now healthy, free from years of dialysis, and walking three miles a day.

Unique paired exchange donation

There was also no stopping Steve List,67, from donating a kidney last year to his daughter Connie Salazar, 44. Both of Connie’s kidneys began to fail in 2020, and Steve, a match for Connie, immediately volunteered to donate. “She was very ill, and we almost lost her a few times,” said Steve. “Losing her would have been the only thing able to stand in my way of donating my kidney.”  In anticipation of the surgery, Steve devoted himself to getting even healthier, running two marathons and climbing Mount Whitney.

The one concern doctors had was that Steve was not a good age match for Connie. So the care team used an exchange program to find a kidney for Connie from a younger donor, while Steve’s kidney would go to a stranger closer to his age. Steve and Connie had surgery on the same day; his kidney was sent out on the same day Connie’s arrived for her.

The paired exchange donation was successfully completed, and today Connie is back to her normal life.

Power of transplants

These families are proof of the power of living donor transplants. The kidney recipients Juan and Connie are thriving, and Steve and Joanna’s health outcomes should not be affected by their donation (people survive just fine with one kidney). In fact, Steve says his health is better than before because he is more conscientious about taking care of himself.

Keck Medicine of USC has one of the most established transplant programs in the country. Counting living transplants (kidneys and liver) and transplants from deceased donors (heart and lung), we have performed more than 7,000 transplants since 1991. And last year, we made history by teaming with UCLA to perform the world’s first in-human bladder transplant.

I am grateful for our transplantation teams that make miracles happen every day. Their work is critical, life-affirming and life-giving. And I am thankful for all of the donors and the worthwhile sacrifices they make. Joanna and her father Juan’s experience make this crystal-clear.

After surgery, when Joanna first saw her father’s face, she couldn’t believe the difference. For years, Juan’s color had been a sickly gray-yellow, but now, only hours post-transplant, his face was flushed with color and vitality. She began to cry because she knew she had saved his life.

I am grateful for our transplantation teams that make miracles happen every day. Their work is critical, life-affirming and life-giving. And I am thankful for all of the donors and the worthwhile sacrifices they make.

Rod Hanners, CEO of Keck Medicine

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