The third annual Living Donor Awareness Game sponsored by our Living Liver Foundation and Henry Ford Health was a success! Before the game, fans could stop by information tables hosted by Henry Ford Health and the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan to learn more about living organ donation and transplant. The game began with 19 year-old Conner MacKenzie, a living donor liver transplant recipient, who threw out the first pitch to his pre-transplant nurse coordinator, Joe Robinson. Conner’s transplant was made possible by a very kind anonymous living donor. Next up, 11 year-old Lia Lucci beautifully sang the national anthem. Her family, including her great uncle who is a two-time living donor kidney transplant recipient, stood proudly by. After the first inning, living donor liver transplant recipient Lynnette Rodriguez (pictured left) was thrilled to meet her living liver donor, Ashley Podhola, in an emotional moment on the field. The two women bonded immediately and plan to spend more time together soon.
During the game, Henry Ford Health and the Living Liver Foundation shared public service announcements on the scoreboard to educate fans about both types of living donor transplant: liver and kidney. After the second inning, 35 living kidney and liver donors took to the field to be honored as the game’s hometown heroes. When they returned to their seats, they participated in a prize drawing that included a Cabana suite rental for a future game, team merchandise and Detroit Tiger tickets. Thank you to Jimmy John’s Field for helping us honor living donors, educate fans about living donation and inspire more donation.