My Double Donation Story: McKenzie Winland

My path to becoming a double non-directed organ donor began with my family. My parents raised my brothers and me to value compassion, empathy, and helping others. They modeled these values in countless ways, including regularly donating blood.

When my mom learned that my childhood friend’s life had been saved by receiving donated platelets, she began donating platelets and continued donating regularly for many years. My mom and I planned many blood drives together when I was young, and when we got old enough, my brothers and I began donating blood and platelets regularly too.

When my oldest brother, Adam, told me he was considering donating an organ, it felt like a natural progression and immediately piqued my interest. His friend had donated a kidney to a family member and had told Adam about what a positive experience it was. We both began researching the process more.

I had previously thought of organ donation as something you did only for a loved one and at great personal sacrifice. I had misconceptions about the process and thought that donating would greatly reduce your future quality of life.

As I did more research, I learned about non-directed donations and that you could live a full, active life after donation. I began to view living organ donation as making the choice to deal with a few weeks of pain and discomfort in order to save someone’s life, and that was a trade-off I was easily willing to make.

It quickly progressed from an idea to something I felt certain about—if I had the power to save someone’s life, how could I not do that? I decided to go through testing to become a non-directed kidney donor. Adam decided to donate part of his liver as a non-directed donor.

In August 2019, I donated my kidney. As a non-directed donor, I was able to start a donation chain in which three individuals received a kidney.

My surgery went well, and I was up and walking soon after. Two days later, before I was discharged, I was able to meet some of the other members of the donor chain, including my recipient and his son, who had also donated. It was an incredibly special moment.

My recovery went very smoothly. I walked and rested a lot early on to regain my strength. I was able to run a half-marathon at an 8:20/mile pace on the two-month anniversary of my donation.

Over the years, my recipient has become like family. He attended my wedding and baby shower, and we even worked together for a couple of years. It has been wonderful to see the positive impact his new kidney has had on him.

Like many organ donors, I found myself saying, “I wish I could do it again”—and it turns out, in a way, I could. Through online organ donor groups, I learned that it was possible to be a double donor (both kidney and liver). I had such a positive experience with my kidney donation that I decided to pursue liver donation.

One year after my kidney donation, I went through testing and was approved to be a non-directed liver donor. I donated a lobe of my liver to a stranger in October 2020. My recovery went well, and my liver regrew quickly. It took me about two weeks longer to hit most milestones (e.g., starting to run, feeling 100%) after my liver donation than it had after my kidney donation.

A common question before a non-directed organ donation is whether you want to meet your recipient afterward if they are willing. Both times I said yes. The follow-up question is whether you will be OK if they do not want to meet. I remember saying that while I could not be certain how I would feel, I believed I would be fine with that. I was donating because I believed it would help someone. The donation was a gift given freely with no expectation from the recipient in return.

While my kidney recipient has become a close friend, my liver recipient has not wanted to meet. I received a lovely letter from her and her husband, and I hope she is doing well. Not knowing who received my liver has not made it any less of a positive experience than my kidney donation.

Since my organ donations, I have lived a full, healthy, active life. I got married and gave birth to my son. I had a healthy pregnancy with no complications. I have completed a half Ironman and a marathon, while also doing CrossFit most days.

I continue to be very passionate about organ donation. I feel that my donations are some of the best decisions I have made. I enjoy being involved in the organ donor community—sharing my story to increase awareness, competing in fitness competitions like the Donor Games, and informally mentoring people going through the organ donation process. I am also fortunate to have recently begun working in the organ donation field as the director of the National Livery Registry. I am thrilled to be able to work each day to promote living organ donation.

About the Author

McKenzie grew up outside Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Denison University. She has lived most of her adult life in Columbus, Ohio—a city she loves and where she has a wonderful community of friends. She feels endlessly lucky to be sharing her life with her amazing husband and son.

McKenzie worked in the banking industry for many years, including leadership roles in operations and program management. She recently decided to pursue her passion for organ donation as a career and became the director of the National Liver Registry.

McKenzie is happiest when getting to spend lots of time with family and friends. She enjoys planning activities and trips with her loved ones. In her spare time, she is very active—especially through CrossFit and running. She also enjoys reading, playing board games, and starting each day with a cup of coffee and the NYT word games.