INCREDIBLE WORK: Donor group helps veterans in critical need of kidney donations
Sharyn Kreitzer of Donor Outreach for Veterans, Corp, discusses how her organization helps veterans in critical need of kidney donations.
A non-profit organization is helping veterans receive life-saving kidney transplants.
The Donor Outreach for Veterans Corporation, commonly known as DOVE, has helped save 30 lives since it was launched in 2020, according to founder and executive director Sharyn Kreitzer.
Kreitzer told "Fox News Live" 15 veterans have received kidney transplants since the group was profiled by the show two years ago.
"Fifteen are directly resulting from the piece you aired in 2021. And I just wanted to thank your Fox family, Benjamin Hall, who was interviewing us that day, because hundreds of people called us and did intakes and we screened over 300 people and that resulted in 15 veterans getting transplanted in the following 12 months," she said.
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Four veterans, Michael Boyd, Jermaine Ellington, Dathan Odell and Jeffrey Garcia are in need of a kidney transplant.
Kreitzer shared that if people would like to see if they are a match, they can head to the organization’s website– dovetransplant.org– for more information.
"If you're not feeling like you could be someone who could be a donor, just spread awareness. So much is just letting people know that we have, most of us if we're healthy, we have two kidneys, and we can live a normal life with one kidney and save someone's life with our other kidney," she told co-host Bill Melugin. "And we're here to support all prospective donors throughout the journey. And it's very gratifying to be able to give back to veterans in this very meaningful way. And it's really my honor to be able to have this organization that is making such an impact."
The founder shared that interested donors would go through a medical screening to determine if they are healthy enough to donate. If the prospective donor is a match, they are put on the veterans’ transplant donor program and undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation.
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"All of the costs related to that evaluation are covered by the veteran's insurance. And then organizations such as Dove help make sure that all of the other non-medical costs, such as travel or lost wages, are covered as well. We want to make sure that a donor has no disincentive to being able to donate," Kreitzer explained. "So we really try to provide as much support as we can to see that it can happen. And I can speak from personal experience because I'm a donor myself, and I do believe that giving feels so good. And as donors, we get so much from the ability to save someone's life. And I feel healthier than I've ever felt. And I really do encourage anyone to consider learning about donation and making a decision if this feels like it's right for them."
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Approximately 2,000 veterans are awaiting a kidney transplant at either a VA Center or a military hospital in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.
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