Seven years ago, FNU staff member Dee Morgan noticed an advertisement on the back of a vehicle looking for a kidney. She thought, “how sad.” A few days later she saw the call out on another car, then she heard it on the radio, and saw a story about it on TV. She did some research and learned about being a living organ donor.
“I felt led to go get tested. I didn’t tell my family,” Dee Morgan said.
She didn’t think she would be a match, but she quickly found out she was. By the time she made it through more testing, a donor was already found for that person.
A few years went by and she received a call from her daughter, Kennedy. Kennedy’s old high school athletic trainer, Walker Terhune, needed a kidney and she wanted her mom to try to donate to him. Soon after, Dee filled out the paperwork to do the testing to see if she was a match. She began the process in October of 2020.
“Within thirty minutes, the University of Kentucky Organ & Transplant Center called me to do the initial testing,” Dee said.
After doing the initial blood work, Dee had to go in for further testing such as a psychological exam, chest x-ray, family history, CT scan with dye, and more. Soon after, in January of 2021, she got a call back saying she was a match.
Dee and her Nephrologist Dr. Meera Gupta from UK – two weeks post surgery.
The hospital staff encouraged Dee to call him since she knew him. She sent him a text explaining who she was and that she wanted to talk to him.
“Fifteen minutes later he called me asking what he could do for me,” Dee said. “…well, it’s actually what can I do for you? I would like to donate a kidney to you.”
Walker didn’t realize Dee had already completed all of the testing and was ready to set up their surgery. He provided the contact information so she could begin the testing process.
“…No you don’t understand. I already went through the testing; I’m basically calling to schedule our surgery,” she told him. “He just sat there silent. He almost didn’t believe me.”
With Walker being a week away from starting dialysis, they scheduled the surgery for February 26, 2021. The surgery went smoothly, both recovered quickly, and “their” kidney is doing well.
“I’m shocked at how easy it was,” Dee said.
Dee and Walker still stay in touch today and celebrate their surgery anniversary. Dee has inspired her daughter to try to donate after she has a family.
Walker Terhune and Dee celebrating their 2 year anniversary of the surgery!
Dee Morgan & Walker Terhune Radio Interview on 590 WVLK AM
Central Kentucky man looking for a kidney donor, WLEX18 TV
Kentucky man gets new kidney after social media search, WLEX18 TV
How Can You Be a Living Donor
There is a common misconception that you can only be an organ donor after you die. Many people do not realize they can be a living organ donor and donate a kidney, part of their liver, and certain other organs and tissues.
According to HRSA, about 6,500 living donation transplants happen every year.
To be a living donor, you must go through a complete physical exam, lab tests, and screenings for cancer and other diseases and complete a mental health evaluation and family medical history questionnaire. You must be 18 years old or older, be in good health, and fully understand the risks and benefits.
If a kidney donor ever finds that they are in need of a kidney, they are bumped to the top of the recipient list.
Walker and Dee at University of Kentucky Hospital raising a flag in honor of Donate Life Month in 2022.
If you want to donate to someone, but your kidney isn’t a good match, you may be able to do a kidney paired donation. According to UNOS, this, also known as a kidney exchange, is when two or more pairs of living donors swap kidneys to make a compatible match. By the end, each recipient receives a compatible transplant. Read about this “kidney chain” that took place involving 12 people and 6 states.
April is National Donate Life Month. Visit DonateLife.net to learn more about how you can become a donor today. Visit this website to contact the Kentucky Organ Donation Affiliate.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).