Donor Search Success Stories

The owner of a popular restaurant in Norwalk has a second chance at life. Andrew Sayasane, owner of Winn’s Pizza in Norwalk, started looking for a life-saving kidney donor in July. In October, he got the call that his friend’s fiancee was a perfect match.

About two years ago, Nino DiGiulio put a bumper sticker on his truck in hopes of changing his life — and it is finally paying off.

Nearly a year after her kidneys went into failure, Katie Hallum posted a TikTok. “POV: I overhear you say you have an O blood type and healthy kidneys,” the caption read. Then, Hallum lip-synced a line from “The Mandalorian”: “You have something I want.” The TikTok appeared on Savannah Stallbaumer’s feed. She wanted to help.

Mark Rasmussen had two good kidneys, and wanted to give one away. Brad Hill was facing death without a kidney transplant. Near-strangers a year ago, the two men are now recovering from surgery last week, with one of Mr. Rasmussen’s healthy kidneys on the job for each of them.

In August 2022, Tania Grgurich, a diagnostic imaging professor at Quinnipiac University, spotted a Facebook post from former student Samantha Markham, who was in dire need of a kidney transplant. Grgurich immediately called the Center for Living Organ Donors at Yale New Haven Hospital to volunteer as her donor.

Destiny, luck, or perhaps a touch of divine intervention came together when Pastor Shane Webb’s desire to become an organ donor was answered: the granddaughter of a member of his congregation needed a kidney. He said, “Well, you can have one of mine.”

What started as a typical checkup for Parker Lintelman ended with a devastating diagnosis. At just 4 years old, her kidneys were failing. But Parker got a generous, life-saving gift from her preschool teacher, who donated her kidney through the NKR Voucher Program.

Tyler Rosen, a rare two-time living organ donor, spoke with News 6 about his most recent life-changing act of kindness. Two years ago he donated a part of his liver to an anonymous recipient. Then, he donated his kidney to his friend Katie Freeman, a new mom.

Friday afternoon, hundreds gathered at Inova Fairfax to celebrate the health system’s living kidney donor program. In fact, all living kidney donors at Inova since 2019 were invited to this special ceremony.

In just a few years, David VanDinter, who has polycystic kidney disease, went from mostly good health to stage four renal failure. The same day he posted about his need for a donor on Facebook, a former junior high school classmate messaged him: “I’m going to sign up tonight.”