TUCSON, Ariz. (March 31, 2026) – Banner – University Medicine is recognizing national Donate Life Month in April with a series of patient stories, clinical milestones and community events aimed at raising awareness about organ donation and transplantation.
Father-Daughter Living Donor Transplant
A father and daughter traveled from across the country to Tucson for a living donor kidney transplant at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.
The procedure was performed on March 26 by transplant surgeon Ramesh Batra, MD, and the abdominal transplant surgery team using a robotic-assisted surgical system that launched at the hospital earlier this year. Banner – University Medical Center Tucson is the first hospital in Tucson, and the first across Banner Health, to perform robotic-assisted living donor kidney transplants.
The donor, Emilie Leahy, traveled from Hawaii to donate a kidney to her father, Randall Welch, who came from South Dakota after his kidney function began declining in 2023.
“I've had a lot of distance between my dad and myself since we moved to Hawaii,” said Leahy. “We've kind of lost personal touch, and this is kind of brought us closer.”
The pair selected Banner for its expertise in transplant care and surgical innovation, as well as the ability to recover near family in Tucson.
A hero walk was held following the procedure to recognize Emilie and the clinical team that performed the procedure.
This procedure marks Banner’s fourth robotic-assisted living donor kidney transplant.
Third Annual Living Donor Appreciation Event
Banner – University Medicine will host its third annual Living Donor Appreciation event on Friday, April 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Innovation Building, 1670 E. Drachman St.
The event will bring together living kidney donors, recipients, families and transplant care teams to recognize the impact of organ donation and raise awareness about the ongoing need for donors.
Olympic swimming gold medalist Crissy Perham, a living donor and University of Arizona graduate, will be the featured speaker.
Also in attendance will be husband and wife George Orozoco and LeeAnn Larson, who participated in a kidney paired exchange after learning they were not a direct match.
LeeAnn donated her kidney to a recipient in New York, while George received a compatible kidney from the spouse of LeeAnn’s recipient through the exchange. The coordinated transplant took place on Feb. 13, 2024, just two months after George was placed on the transplant list. He refers to the kidney as “the greatest Valentine's Day gift.” They married on March 26, 2024.
“What a great gift to give,” said Orozoco. “You don't have to be a match. You don't have to be the same blood type.”
The couple, who met in 2015, navigated years of medical challenges including George’s hereditary polycystic kidney disease and the loss of one kidney due to a traumatic injury.
Since the transplant, George has made significant lifestyle changes, and the couple has become advocates for living donation and paired exchange programs.
Donate Life Month Flag Raising Ceremonies
Banner – University Medicine will host Donate Life Month flag raising ceremonies on Wednesday, April 8, to honor organ, eye and tissue donors and recognize the lives saved through transplantation. On main campus, there will be some brief remarks and a flag raising near the Healer’s Touch sculpture on the cafeteria patio at 10 a.m. At South Campus, there will be a flag raising near the main entrance at 1:30 p.m.
About Kidney Transplant Need in Arizona
According to Ramesh Batra, MD, division chief of abdominal transplant surgery, more than 2,100 people in Arizona are currently waiting for a kidney transplant. Each year, approximately 700 transplants are performed, leaving the majority of patients still waiting.
Increasing the number of living and deceased donors remains critical. In Arizona, an additional 1,400 kidney donations each year could eliminate the transplant waiting list. Living kidney donors must be at least 18 years old, and according to the National Kidney Registry, kidneys can be donated by healthy donors in their late 70s and beyond.
To learn more about organ donation and transplant services, visit bannerhealth.com/services/transplant.
Captions:
Living donor group 3 - The Banner – University Medicine Tucson transplant team poses with kidney transplant patients Emilie Leahy and Randall Welch.
Living donor hero walk 2 - Emilie Leahy and Randall Welch embrace following the hero walk. Living donor hero walk 7 - Transplant surgeon Robert Harland, MD, and Ramesh Batra, MD, stand with kidney recipient Randall Welch and living donor Emilie Leahy. Robotic surgery 1 - Ramesh Batra, MD, uses the da Vinci surgical system, a state-of-the-art robotic-assisted surgical platform. Robotic surgery 2 - Hasan Al Harakeh, MD, faculty physician, during Emilie Leahy’s kidney transplant procedure.
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