Organ donation: Life-giving gifts

By Sheilah Kast,

Melissa Gerr

Published April 19, 2023 at 10:05 AM EDT

Tim Blake (left), a registered organ donor, died of a fentanyl overdose at age 41. His mother Carmen Blake (top right), and her family, carried out his wishes. Phyllis Weissblum (bottom right), received Tim's heart in 2019. The two women have forged a friendship. Photos: Infinite Legacy

There are about 28-thousand organ transplants annually in the US. How does organ donation work? Dr. Kathryn Smith, a Johns Hopkins pediatric transplantation doctor who received liver transplants as a teen, talks about her unique perspective.

Then we hear from Carmen Blake, mother of organ donor Tim Blake, and Phyllis Weissblum, who received Tim's heart in November, 2019. The two women have forged a friendship.

Links: Infinite Legacy Foundation, National Donate Life Month.

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Sheilah Kast

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.

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Melissa Gerr

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'

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