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Virtual Donor Remembrance

Honoring Donor Heroes
Join Donor Network of Arizona
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, at 7 p.m.
DNAZ.org/CanvasofLife >
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Anna Reidenbach

Liver Recipient

As a Donate Life Arizona volunteer, Anna shares
her lifesaving story of hope.

Sign up to volunteer >

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Noel Rivera Fuentes

Donor

Alysson’s dad, Noel, saved many
lives as an organ and tissue donor.

Read his story >
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Oliver Crawford

Heart Recipient

Oliver’s life was saved by a generous organ donor.

Read Oliver’s story >

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DonateLifeAZ Registry

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On this #TacoTuesday, try Paul "Pops" taco bake to add a fun twist! 1 hour 30 minutes | Serves 8 Ingredients: 3 garlic cloves 1 medium onion 1 pound ground beef 18 corn tortillas 32 ounces red enchilada sauce 1 (32 ounces) bag mild Cheddar cheese Optional: sour cream Instructions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Chop garlic and onion. Brown meat with onion and garlic on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Place 6 corn tortillas between damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute. Continue until all tortillas are warmed. Put a spoonful of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan. Layer tortillas, then place half the meat mixture on tortillas. Drizzle enchilada sauce over the meat. Top with cheese. Repeat this process. For the third layer, just top the tortillas with sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Optionally, serve with sour cream on top.
Delfina Arroyo says she has a prominent family history of cancer, including having lost her aunt and brother to the disease. Uterine, ovarian, breast, lung, kidney cancers— you name it. Yet she felt surprised when doctors told her she was also prone to breast cancer because of a gene mutation. This left the mother of two and tissue recovery technician with Donor Network of Arizona (DNA) with the difficult decision of whether to wait for cancer or have a preventative double mastectomy. “I [just thought] if I can take care of this with one surgery versus have my kids later on deal with the pain I’ve dealt with, then I’d rather just do it,” Delfina says. Delfina resumed a healthy life after reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy. Now a tissue recipient, the most important part of all was hugging her children again. “The look on [my daughter’s] face every day when I would tell her we can’t cuddle [because of my surgery], it would break my heart,” she says.
"Like most, I never gave much thought to becoming a living kidney donor. But in 2017, we found out my nephew was going to need a kidney transplant, and I wanted to help. I began the initial testing and evaluation to become a donor early in the year at the IHC Transplant Clinic in Murray, Utah. As it turned out, I was not a match for my nephew. I was disappointed and felt bad that I couldn’t help him. It didn’t take long for me to decide that there may be someone else out there who needs a kidney… someone I don’t even know. After talking things over with my wife, we decided to continue with the testing in hopes of finding someone I was compatible with. The doctors and staff at the transplant clinic were very helpful in my journey. They were very careful not to get my hopes up, because there were still many tests remaining. Ultimately, it was determined I had two very healthy kidneys and I would be a good candidate for donation. The search was on for a recipient. It took nearly two months, but I finally got the call that a recipient had been found. In May 2017, we went in for what turned out to be a flawless surgery and transplant. As it turned out, my recipient chose not to meet me after the surgery. There are many reasons this may happen, and I was well aware this might be the case. It’s now been five years since transplant. I feel great and have had no ill effects of living with one kidney. My recipient eventually reached out with a letter of thanks, but I still don’t know who she is. I’ve been told she is doing well, and I still hold out hope that one day I will get to meet her. I’ve since gotten involved with Donate Life back in Utah and now in Arizona where we retired two years ago. Even though I don’t know my recipient, I think about her often and silently thank her for the opportunity to help. My nephew fortunately received a perfectly matched kidney from his sister, both are doing fine as well." - Rex Leetham, living kidney donor
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On this #TacoTuesday, try Paul "Pops" taco bake to add a fun twist! Page 81 or #RecipesofRemembrance dnaz.org/recipesofremem… pic.twitter.com/jVeQDnAygm

Thanks to a tissue recipient, Delfina could resume her healthy life after reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy due to breast cancer. Now a tissue recipient, the most important part of all was hugging her…

"I never gave much thought to being a living donor. But in 2017 my nephew was going to need a kidney transplant. I was not a match for my nephew, but it didn’t take long for me to decide there may be someone out there…

"Today we know that our precious boy has already left this earth and is robot dancing his ways through the gates of heaven." -Crosby Pruitt's mother, Christina Pruitt fox34.com/2022/07/07/fam…

Four days before her scheduled wedding, as she was preparing to go to work on September 28, 2021, Kimberly Woods got a phone call she wasn’t expecting. A donor heart was available, and it was a perfect match for…

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