Donor Spotlight – Midwest Transplant Network

A group of men and women posed in front of a tall sculpture that represents the gift of life through organ donation.

MTN Spotlight: MU fraternity donates nearly $9k toward organ donation

July 9, 2025/in

A group of men and women posed in front of a vertical sculpture.

Shea Walsh and his mom, Sarah Walsh, presented a donation to Midwest Transplant Network on behalf of Alpha Tau Omega, University of Missouri. The Walshes are pictured with leaders from Midwest Transplant Network.

Representing his college fraternity and donor hero father, Shea Walsh and his mother, Sarah, presented a generous donation of $8,924.90 to Midwest Transplant Network.

Shea is a sophomore at University of Missouri, a member of Alpha Tau Omega – Gamma Rho chapter, and serves as philanthropy chair. The fraternity’s signature fundraising event – a golf tournament and silent auction – had “amazing support” and the “turnout exceeded expectations.” Shea collaborated with Wyatt Oliver, signature event coordinator, on the fundraiser.

Support for a nonprofit
After the tournament, the next step was to choose a nonprofit in Kansas City aligned with organ donation.

“It was a clear decision for me. My late father’s organs were donated through Midwest Transplant Network, so I already had a personal connection to the organization,” he explained. “I brought the idea to our President Jimmy Welsh, Vice President Ben Herweck, and my co-chair Daniel Ross, and they immediately supported the choice without hesitation.”

“This is a full circle moment for us,” said Sarah. “Shea’s dad, Bernard Walsh, died suddenly May 4, 2014. We authorized use of anything viable to Midwest Transplant Network on that date. To know that Shea’s fraternity decided to have an event and only asked that the funds be donated to donor organizations warmed our hearts.

“We are grateful to offer this donation and hopeful that it will help in some way,” she continued.

Shea has similar feelings about being a donor hero family.

“Organ donation, to me, is truly lifesaving. I understand how rare and difficult it can be to receive a match, and that makes every donor even more meaningful. During our event, ATO alumnus Mark McIntosh shared his own emotional story of receiving a kidney transplant. His words reinforced just how critical and powerful organ donation really is.”

Support for public awareness
All contributions to Midwest Transplant Network support public education for organ, eye and tissue donation, as well as donor family services. Donated funds help ensure that people have access to information to make a decision about organ, eye and tissue donation.

A college-age man and a woman sitting at a conference table.

Shea Walsh and his mom, Sarah Walsh, smile during a conversation at Midwest Transplant Network. The Walshes presented a donation to MTN on behalf of Shea’s fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, University of Missouri.

Mikayla Bonner: A Young Life Remembered, A Legacy of Healing Through Donation

January 29, 2025/in

/by Mitch Weber

Mikayla was 14 when she passed away from a pulmonary embolism.

Mikayla Bonner was bright, vibrant, had a great smile, and made friends with people who had difficulty making friends. Most of all, she made memories with her mother, Kola Atkins, and younger sisters, Mattie and Mae.

Mikayla was 14 when she passed away from a pulmonary embolism. Mom said there was “no hesitation” to make her an eye and tissue donor.

“Mikayla’s heart valves went to two babies that night that were at Children’s Mercy. So those moms got to hold their babies. Lots of her skin went to burn victims at Children’s Mercy. I find great comfort in that those moms got to hold their babies.”

Mom joined the donor registry at age 16. “I’ve always talked about organ donation with my girls and family growing up. It’s not an easy conversation, but you just work it in. This is what you do to help other people.”

Mattie and Mae followed Mikayla’s example through Girl Scouts, their love of music and helping others. “We’re able to take comfort in knowing she helped people even before she passed away, and now she’s continuing to help people. She’s being remembered in a way that I think she’d like to be remembered.”

The family shares lots of stories about Mikayla. “We won’t let her be forgotten. We still remember her.”

Joe Hecht, donor hero, wearing a white button-down shirt with a grey and maroon tie.

MTN Donor Hero to be Honored on OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade Float, Jan. 1

December 4, 2024/in

/by Midwest Transplant Network

Joe Hecht, donor hero, Midwest Transplant Network

It’s the time of year for holidays, celebrations and parades on TV!

Midwest Transplant Network is proud to co-sponsor the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float and honor a donor hero from our area with a floragraph portrait on the float.

Donor Hero Joe Hecht
MTN chose donor hero Joe Hecht of Sturgeon, Mo., as the 2025 Rose Parade honoree.

Joe was 38, a son, husband and father. He died in July 2020 and donated his kidneys at MU Health Care in Columbia, Mo., saving the lives of two people.

Growing up, his mother, Sheila Hecht, served in the Navy. They lived in Florida and Washington, experiencing the world along the way. Baseball, working on cars and “California Love” by Tupac were his vibe. He enjoyed a life of adventure with his wife, Melissa, taking trips to the Amazon rainforest and Machu Picchu in Peru. Joe loved being outside with their young daughters, Elena and Isabelle.

“We are proud of Joe’s legacy as an organ donor. We always talk about daddy. He’s a hero. We are thankful to be invited to represent Joe at the Rose Parade®. It’ll be a wonderful memory for our family,” said Melissa Hecht.

Floragraph Portrait
All Rose Parade floats must be covered with flowers or other natural materials, such as leaves, seeds or bark.

The OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float features numerous floragraphs – portraits made entirely of organic materials – remembering donors from around the country. The floragraphs are created by volunteers. To allow the families to be part of the experience, a small portion of the floragraph is left incomplete so the family can add the final touches.

In November, MTN hosted a floragraph ceremony for the Hechts to complete Joe’s portrait. The ceremony welcomed family, friends and representatives from MU Health Care.

The Hechts will participate in parade events hosted by OneLegacy, the organ procurement organization of southern California. They’ll get to see Joe’s floragraph on the float ahead of the parade and watch from the grandstand as the float travels down the route.

About the Parade & Float
The 2025 Rose Parade® theme is Best Day Ever.

The OneLegacy Donate Life float theme is Let Your Life Soar, inspired by the Japanese celebration of Children’s Day. The float will feature a vibrant scene of colorful koi nobori, or windsocks shaped like fish, flying over a garden of flowering trees, stone lanterns and a bridge. Streamers will bear a family crest, followed by koi nobori in a sequence representing father, mother and children. In Japan, “koi fish represent strength, courage and health. These same attributes define those who chose to give the gift of life, as well as their families and recipients.” The scales of the koi fish are floral portraits, or floragraphs, representing donor heroes.

Learn more about the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float.

Watch the Parade
The 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float will be featured during the 136th Rose Parade® on Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 8 a.m. PST. The Rose Parade will broadcast live in the U.S. on NBC, ABC and Univision; please check your local broadcast listings for details.

A display table with framed portraits, a vase filled with flowers and a rendering of the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float 2025.

MTN hosted a floragraph finishing ceremony for the Hecht family as part of the Rose Parade experience.

A floragraph portrait of Joe Hecht, a donor hero from Sturgeon, Mo. The floragraph will be featured on the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float on Jan. 1, 2025.

A bouquet of flowers in the foreground and a woman getting a hug in the background.

Melissa Hecht gets a hug from a friend during the floragraph ceremony for her husband, Joe Hecht.

Honoring the “Coolest 3-Year-Old” in Support of Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

January 13, 2021/in

/by Midwest Transplant Network

According to Matt Hampel, his youngest daughter, Ryan, was a force to be reckoned with: She was cool, polite, loving and smart, with a smile that could light up any room.

When 3-year-old Ryan’s life was tragically cut short in a multi-car crash, Matt and Ryan’s mother made the courageous and selfless decision to donate her organs so that others could live. Matt said that, “while you feel like everything around you is going wrong, you have an obligation to do what’s right.”

Just a few weeks after Ryan’s death, friends of Matt’s organized a baseball tournament to honor Ryan and support Matt, who had been severely injured in the same crash. In the three years since, Matt and his wife, Heather, have organized the tournament and grown it exponentially, generously donating all proceeds to Midwest Transplant Network. They held their biggest tournament yet in August 2020, featuring 67 teams and raising nearly $30,000 — amid a pandemic, nonetheless.

Matt credits the people in his support system for not only helping him and Heather process Ryan’s death, but also for teaching Matt’s other children the importance of family, even if members of that “family” are not connected by blood.

“We took Ryan everywhere, and everybody knew her, and everybody knows my other two girls,” he said. “I have an obligation for them to be exposed and to see the good people we have around us.”

Although the Ryan Grace Memorial Baseball Tournament is already a huge success each year, Heather said she and Matt are determined to continually improve it, creating an even greater impact on their community.

“We hope Ryan knows that we’re doing the best we can and that we are trying to spread the message of being kind,” she said.

If he could talk to Ryan today, Matt would make sure she knows exactly how loved she continues to be — by himself, her sisters, Heather and so many people in the community. “For as little as she was,” he said, “she had such a huge crater that she left.”

To learn more about the Ryan Grace Memorial Baseball Tournament, visit ryangracememorial.org.