The Big Picture
April is National Donate Life Month — a time to raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation, encourage people to register as donors, and honor donors who have saved lives. Established in 2003, the national observance highlights the ongoing need for donors while celebrating organ transplant recipients and the families and clinical teams who make lifesaving care possible.
For children, that need can be especially urgent. Pediatric patients — particularly those under age five — face some of the highest risks while waiting for a transplant, often because size-matched organs are harder to find. Behind every transplant is a story of extraordinary generosity, and behind every waiting list number is a child and family hoping for time.
What’s Happening
Clinicians and transplant families at Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital’s Transplant Program joined together to spotlight the critical need for organ donation for children — and to celebrate the donors and children whose lives have been changed by transplantation.
The Primary Children’s Transplant Program — the only pediatric transplant program in the Intermountain West — shared recent milestones and the growing impact of pediatric transplantation in Utah and across the region. The program performs heart, liver, and kidney transplants, and continues to expand access to care through advanced innovation, rigorous oversight, and family-centered support.
The event also centered on the stories that bring the issue into focus: families like Ellie Farmer’s and Alonzo “Lonnie” Whitney’s, whose lives depend on donation and transplantation — and who now represent what’s possible when communities say “yes” to giving.
Why It Matters
The gap between need and availability is stark. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, and while children make up a small portion of the national waiting list, they often face outsized risk — especially infants and toddlers who require size-matched organs.
Pediatric transplantation is also a powerful reminder that donation can save multiple lives. In some cases, living donation can provide a path forward — offering hope to families who otherwise must wait for an organ to become available in time.
National Donate Life Month is about more than awareness; it’s about action. Registering as a donor, learning the facts, and having a conversation with family can directly increase the likelihood that more children — and more adults — get the second chance they’re waiting for.
The Bottom Line
National Donate Life Month shines a light on a simple truth: donation saves lives — and for children waiting for transplants, it can mean the difference between losing time and gaining a future. By registering as an organ donor and sharing that decision with loved ones, each of us can help ensure that more families experience the miracle of a life restored.