Whitni Noyes

People with close ties to organizations like Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) tend to find deep meaning in the mission of organ, eye and tissue donation. For some, like former MTN staff member Whitni Noyes, that mission becomes personal.

“I’ve always been passionate about donation — not only in my career, but also, I always felt like I would probably do that if I ever knew somebody who needed a kidney or part of a liver,” she said. “It never came to fruition until my very good friend Morgan joined our team.”

Whitni soon learned that Morgan’s father, Jack, needed a kidney transplant and, unfortunately, Morgan was not a blood type match. When Whitni’s test results came back saying she could donate to Jack, she decided to be his living donor, despite not knowing him personally.

“It’s a major surgery, but it was an easy choice,” she said. “There wasn’t ever a hesitation. It was always the right thing to do for me and my family.”

Whitni hopes her story will encourage people to consider living donation.

“You don’t have to wait to be a donor; you don’t have to wait for tragedy to happen — you can prevent tragedy from happening for the thousands of people on the waiting list by becoming a living donor,” she said.