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​YOUNG OKLAHOMA WOMAN TREKS ON DESPITE KIDNEY DISEASE
ONE OF 501 IN THE STATE WAITING ON A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT

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Amarri Norteye, of Del City, has a bright future ahead of her, but she needs a kidney to make it possible. She is one of 501 Oklahomans currently awaiting a lifesaving transplant.

Amarri is connected to her dialysis machine, a machine that does the work of her kidneys, six days a week. While she strives to live normally, she misses out on a normal college life and doesn’t stay up late for all-night study sessions and weekend getaways. She has to be on time to bed every night to keep her kidneys functioning.

She had not always been sick. Amarri lived a very normal and active childhood and was a junior in high school when she was getting a physical to play soccer. She felt good and had no worries going into the appointment. However, she quickly learned her blood pressure was high. So high, in fact, that they sent her to the Emergency Room (ER) at a nearby hospital, where the staff ran tests and soon realized her kidney levels were very high. The ER doctors wanted to put her on dialysis right then. Her mother opted to make an appointment for a second opinion.

​RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR ORGAN DONATION
​455 LIVES SAVED BY OKLAHOMANS LAST YEAR

LifeShare of Oklahoma is proud to announce its sixth consecutive record-breaking year in the number of organ donors who saved and healed lives through organ and tissue donation.
 
Throughout 2019, LifeShare coordinated the recovery of 516 lifesaving organs from 197 organ donor heroes, surpassing the organization’s all-time high of 188 donors set in 2018. These precious gifts allowed LifeShare to provide 455 grateful organ transplant recipients with a second chance at life.
 
LifeShare’s annual donation rate of 50 organ donors-per-million-population ranks among the highest in the United States.
 
“As we reflect on 2019’s success, we are thankful for our healthy partnerships with hospitals and transplant centers, more than 200 dedicated volunteers and our passionate, tireless staff who work around the clock to save lives,” Jeffrey Orlowski, President and CEO of LifeShare said. “However, none of this would have been possible without the generosity, courage and selflessness of the donors and their families.”