BALTIMORE — In honor of Donate Life Month, the University of Maryland Medical Center and Infinite Legacy raised a flag celebrating organ donors as 4,000 people in the Maryland-DC area await life-saving transplants.
Among those whose lives were transformed is 19-year-old Krista Jacobs from Anne Arundel County. Sudden kidney failure forced the teenager to give up her beloved softball team and undergo dialysis while awaiting a transplant. Hope arrived when more than 40 people applied to be her living donor. Stacy McDonough, the mother of Krista's teammate, proved to be a match, leading to a successful transplant on August 8, 2022.
"I'm filled with gratitude and hope as I share that my transplanted kidney is still thriving thanks to the generosity of a kind, selfless individual," says Jacobs.
"I'm still just a normal girl working part time at a doggy daycare and pursuing my education to become a veterinarian at community college," Jacobs says. "This journey has shown me the importance of community and support."
Local teen shares transplant story
UMMC reports record success this year with 59 organ donors across their campuses—nearly 20% of all donors within Infinite Legacy's 68-hospital network.
The Donate Life flag, a national symbol honoring organ and tissue donors, will fly across Maryland throughout April as UMMC, Infinite Legacy, and Donate Life America celebrate Donate Life Month.
UMMC will host a Celebration of Donation ceremony later this month.
For information on becoming a donor, click here.
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