My Friend is a Living Organ Donor.
How Death and New Life Bring a Fresh Mental Health Perspective to the Spirituality of Easter
As spring awakens the earth and Easter finds us, our hearts turn naturally toward themes of renewal, hope, and transformation.
After the cold and stark death of winter, nature itself seems to breathe new life—trees bud, flowers bloom, and light stretches longer into the evening sky. For Christians, Easter is a powerful celebration of resurrection and grace, a sacred reminder that from death comes life, and from sacrifice springs salvation. It’s in this season—so rich with the symbolism of rebirth—that the act of living organ donation finds a profound spiritual and emotional resonance. Few gifts embody the Easter message as clearly as the decision to offer a part of yourself to sustain another's life.
Meet my friend, Rachel. She and I met a couple of years ago now at a community business function for healthcare professionals. I was just opening Trellis and trying to meet new friends and new referral sources in town. Her bright eyes and smile welcomed me, and while I wasn’t entirely sure what audiology and counseling really had in common, I knew we would be fast friends. When you know, you know. A couple glasses of wine later, Rachel explained how she often discusses anxiety with her patients seen for things like tinnitus or ringing in the ears. It clicked, and what she knew all along emerged for me like a cognitive dawn. I came to realize that’s just Rachel; brilliant yet approachable, and endlessly kind toward others without pulling the martyr card. A rare catch of a friend!
Time passed and truthfully life happened. As two busy, working moms, we naturally drifted but always came back together at some point- moving through the same stream but in different places. One catch-up session, she shared with me about this profound experience she had caring for someone in the active process of dying- and transitioning through their Liminal Space. I could see how moved she was by the experience, and we shared a moment of understanding the well of emotionality that kind of thing both gives and takes. She told me she was in the process of considering living organ donation, and how she could potentially be a match for someone.
Wait-hold the phone. Living organ donation?! Ummm…share more. And share she did, throughout a months-long process of medical evaluation, testing, screening, imaging which to a normal person might seem daunting. But to Rachel, “Why wouldn’t I do it? If it helps someone, then it’s worth it.” It was just that simple to her. As her self-appointed therapist friend, I pumped the breaks. Was she sure? Had she considered the mental and emotional sides? The risks. The benefits. The whole dang roller coaster of “Are you in? Ok, what’s next?” More of her story in a minute, but first…
What Is Living Organ Donation?
Living organ donation occurs when a person voluntarily donates a portion of their liver, a kidney, or even tissues such as bone marrow to someone in need. Unlike deceased organ donation, this gift is made while the donor is still alive—aware, intentional, and deeply personal.
For those with end-stage liver disease, a living liver donor can mean the difference between death and life. For someone awaiting a liver transplant, a portion of a healthy liver can regenerate both in the donor and the recipient, offering not just survival, but the ability to thrive again. Rachel shared that within a couple of weeks, her liver would be regenerating and within a couple of months, it would grow to around 80% of its former living liver glory. If you ever doubted the existence of God, well, chalk this one up in the “Believe” column.
A Modern-Day Resurrection
Easter is a story of sacrifice and miraculous restoration. Living organ donors become part of that story in a very real, very human way. Their decision to give is not only a physical act—it is a declaration of faith in life, in healing, and in the interconnectedness of humanity. In a time when the world often feels divided, living organ donation reminds us that we are all bound together by something deeper. One body, one spirit. When we give life to another, we participate in the same divine act of renewal that Easter so powerfully represents.
The donor gives not just an organ—but time, future moments, laughter, second chances, and milestones that might otherwise have been lost to the recipient and their families. In the death of one organ, comes the life given by another. This life given brings a mental and emotional experience of renewal and existential blessing that’s difficult to translate to the written word but scripture comes in clutch. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3
Born again to a living hope. That’s the best way I can capture what it’s like to know someone who has given such life and hope to another.
A Gift Rooted in Love
On the text thread for those of us holding in the worried-but-hopeful camp, her doting husband Jeremy gave us updates and reassured the nervous nellies through his own calm. He shared with us about Rachel, and about the organ recipient and their family. Everyone coming together to support each other. True to form, Rachel champed through the surgery and was walking the next day. Two days later- Wonton soup was on the menu as she was cleared for regular food. The last check in I had with her went something like this:
Rachel: “Feeling good. A little more sluggish today but haven’t napped so IDK”
Me: “POV: Your friend is a living organ donor and showing up your inability to exist without iced coffee.”
Rachel: “lol Exactly”
As I shared with my son, friends, and family that one of my friends was doing this, I expected there to be lots of questions. But most of the time, I was met with, “Wow. What a selfless thing to do.” or “She must be an amazing person!” Those things are true- Rachel is selfless, and amazing. I think she would want all of us to see how caring for others can bring new life. For some people, that’s through living organ donation, and for others, it might look differently. But however we do it, DO IT. And feel the warmth of spiritual inspiration glow. That aura is a feeling, and that feeling is called LOVE.
Easter invites us to believe in the impossible—that life can come from loss, that hope can rise from suffering. Living organ donors don’t just believe it—they live it. This season, as lilies bloom and church bells ring out in celebration, let us remember those who give life so generously. The Rachels. Let us also remember the families given new life. May their stories inspire us to see every day as an opportunity to renew, to give, and to love as deeply and selflessly as the Easter story teaches. And perhaps, just perhaps, you might feel a stirring in your own heart to explore how your story could become someone else's miracle.
Interested in Becoming a Living Donor?
If you're feeling inspired this Easter season to explore the possibility of living donation, here are some trusted resources to learn more:
American Transplant Foundation – Offers support for donors and recipients, including a living donor mentor program.
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) – Provides comprehensive information about all types of organ donation.
Mayo Clinic Living Donation – Explore detailed medical insights and how to be evaluated as a donor.
