Lifesharing

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Lifesharing Lifesharing coordinates organ and tissue donation in San Diego and Imperial counties.

The non-profit, federally-designated organ and tissue recovery organization serving San Diego and Imperial Counties.

OUR VOLUNTEERS EDUCATED 15K STUDENTS LAST SCHOOL YEAR! Today, we celebrated that amazing milestone at our Volunteer App...
10/14/2026

OUR VOLUNTEERS EDUCATED 15K STUDENTS LAST SCHOOL YEAR! Today, we celebrated that amazing milestone at our Volunteer Appreciation Meeting here at Lifesharing. These men and women have a personal connection to organ donation and transplantation…. They speak to local classrooms and community groups on a regular basis. Their stories have inspired untold numbers of people to register as organ and tissue donors. Special shout-out to LeeAnn Pusateri who spoke to 79 classrooms last year and Marlon Gardinera who spoke to 55…. WOW!!! We are forever in your debt 🙏 Our high school team visited 61 local schools last year, spoke to 240 classrooms and educated approximately 15K students. They are a small but mighty team!!
Every single person in this photo is passionate about our lifesaving mission - we love you all ♥️
Kudos to the two women behind today’s extraordinary event: Christy Heymann and Jean Moneda. Christy runs our High School Volunteer program and Jean focuses on outside community events — together, they provide a supportive and caring environment in which our volunteers can thrive.

OUR TEAM DROPPING SOME KNOWLEDGE ON FOLKS AT THE AIR SHOW ✈️😄 A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by Lifesharing’s ...
09/30/2026

OUR TEAM DROPPING SOME KNOWLEDGE ON FOLKS AT THE AIR SHOW ✈️😄 A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by Lifesharing’s booth at the Miramar Air Show this past weekend. We enjoyed meeting you all and hearing about your connection to organ donation or transplantation…. Many people proudly showed us the pink donor dot on their driver license.
Pictured here (L-R): Lifesharing Tissue Quality Supervisor Gwennie Mai and Hospital Analyst Jean Moneda. Jean anchored our participation in this 3-day event. Huge shoutout to Jean and all the Lifesharing volunteers and team members who came out to support us.

09/27/2026

LOOK FOR US AT THE MIRAMAR AIR SHOW! Stop by our booth and say HI 👋

09/24/2026

EMOTIONAL MOMENTS AS ORGAN DONOR’S FAMILY MEETS RECIPIENT, LISTENS TO HEARTBEAT ♥️ Lifesharing introduced the family of organ donor Steve Hirales to Don Leichtling, the man who received Steve’s heart.    Steve became a Lifesharing organ donor after he passed away in 2020.    
We are humbled to be a part of emotional meetings like this.  This one took place at our offices in Mission Valley during Donate Life Month in April.  The meeting was organized by Lifesharing Organ Family Services Supervisor Melissa Culver.   Family Services Specialist Paulina Turville also attended the meeting to assist with Spanish translation, if needed.
Lifesharing coordinates organ and tissue donation at the end of life.   We are proud to serve San Diego and Imperial counties. 
Speakers in order of appearance:
Martha Hirales, mother of organ donor Steve Hirales
Juan Hirales, father of organ donor
Don Leichtling (pronounced “Lightning”) heart transplant recipient
Video by Lifesharing Public Relations Director Anne State.
Video description:
-Family of Lifesharing organ donor meets their son’s heart recipient and embraces him
-Family members take turns listening to their loved one’s heart inside the recipient, using a stethoscope
-Lifesharing presents a donor blanket and hero medal to the organ donor’s family
-Family member take photos with the transplant recipient

09/21/2026

🌹Lifesharing’s Day of Remembrance 🌹Thank you to all the families who joined us at Greenwood Memorial Park on Saturday to pay tribute to recent organ and tissue donors.   You are all amazing.   Special thanks to Lifesharing volunteer Jeanmarie Ferguson for joining us as well.   Jeanmarie was celebrating the 1-year anniversary of her kidney transplant that day, and she wanted to pay tribute to the anonymous donor who saved her life.
Our gratitude to Greenwood Memorial Park & Mortuary for graciously letting us hold our event on their beautiful grounds.

Description of video:
-Butterfly release
-Families place roses on a memorial stone.   These words are etched on the stone: “We honor the heroes who donated their organs and tissues.”
-Lifesharing staff members take photos of the families after they have placed their roses on or near the stone.

09/18/2026

“BEFORE THE TRANSPLANT, I COULD FEEL MY BODY DYING” — A year ago, Lifesharing volunteer Jeanmarie Ferguson was in kidney failure, planning end-of-life care.   Then a stranger called at 4 AM.   At first, Jeanmarie thought she was getting punked… but instead, she was getting SAVED.  On Saturday, she will celebrate the 1-year anniversary of her kidney transplant…. A gift from an anonymous hero 💙💚
Jeanmarie received her transplant at Scripps Health
The majority of patients on the transplant waiting list need a kidney. At Lifesharing, we work every single day to get patients off the transplant waiting list.
🎥: Lifesharing Public Relations Director Anne State, with additional footage provided by Artlist.

09/02/2026

CONGRATULATIONS, DR. FADY NASRALLAH!   LIFESHARING’S ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS TEACHING AWARD 🏆 With Labor Day around the corner, we are reflecting on one of our proudest moments of the summer:   In June, our Associate Medical Director, Dr. Fady Nasrallah, received the Admiral Donald L. Sturtz Teaching Award from the chief residents of the General Surgery Residency Program at Naval Medical Center San Diego.   This is a BIG deal.    While textbooks and lectures provide essential medical knowledge, surgical expertise is built through hands-on experience.   And Dr. Nasrallah makes every effort to give physicians the real-life experience they need to save lives.   As he said in his award acceptance speech:   “When I was in residency, I was the shy kid.   So, it took a little bit more effort for me to get to do parts [roles] in the operating room.   And I wanted to flip the story…. So now, I’m in the operating room [and] I have a resident with me… They get to learn to do the case.   Because one day, these guys and ladies are going to be taking care of us.   Do you want them to learn how to do this or not?”
Thank you, Dr. Nasrallah, for your passion for excellence and your incredible patience in teaching others.   You make everyone around you better.   
Video credit:  Blissful Seeds 
Note:  The original video has been edited for time
We also want to take a moment to recognize the Navy admiral for whom this award is named:   According to history.navy.mil:   Rear Admiral Donald L. Sturtz was a naval aviator who “gave up a promising career in naval aviation to pursue another passion:  helping people as a member of the medical profession”.    Admiral Sturtz treated wounded troops during the Vietnam War and became one of the Navy’s foremost experts in trauma surgery and care.    He was elected as the first commanding officer of the medical unit on the  hospital ship, USNS Mercy. 
Visual Description of video:
-Dr. Fady Nasrallah walks on stage and accepts a framed award
-Dr. Nasrallah hugs people on stage
-Dr. Nasrallah approaches the podium and gives brief remarks

08/24/2026

🦋 A SAN DIEGO PLAYGROUND NAMED AFTER A LIFESHARING ORGAN DONOR 🦋 The Logan Heights CDC re-named its playground “Peyton’s Place” in honor of Lifesharing organ donor Peyton Nurse.  It’s very fitting, since Peyton built the playground with his own hands.  The organization said it wanted to ensure Peyton’s “spirit of care and dedication lives on in the laughter and growth of every child who plays there.”  
Peyton was also posthumously awarded the group’s “Distinguished Volunteer Award”, which his family accepted on his behalf.   This video contains pictures from the award ceremony last year, plus archival photos and footage of Peyton building the playground.  
We’re sharing this story today because it’s an important milestone.   Four years ago exactly, Peyton became a Lifesharing organ donor.   He saved three lives after donating his heart, lungs and kidneys.   Our team was humbled to carry out Peyton’s final act of kindness.    His mother still remembers the day he came home from the DMV after checking the box.   He said, “Why not?  If I can help people, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Some of our longtime followers will already know Peyton because he was our Rose Parade Honoree in 2025.    His floral portrait was featured on the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade Float as it glided down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.   Amazingly, Peyton’s heart was beating just feet away from his picture — his heart recipient, Harley Duffer, was riding the float in his honor.
Special thanks to the Logan Heights Community Development Corporation for their assistance with this social media post. 
Additional thanks to:
Abdur-Rahim Hameed, President of the National Black Contractors Association for providing the voice narration for this video.   Mr. Hameed was Peyton’s mentor;  we recorded this interview with him in 2024.
📸Photo credits:  
Logan Heights CDC
Salvadore (Sal) Maldonado
Video edited by Lifesharing PR Director Anne State

08/19/2026

📣 BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! 📣 CALIFORNIA’s DONOR REGISTRY HITS 20-MILLION! That’s how many people have checked the “yes” box at the DMV since the registry started. (Whoa…. That’s a lot of pink dots!) We’re at the State Capitol in Sacramento for the press announcement…

💍 “TIL DEATH DO US PART” — Karen and Dave Sommers said those words to each other when they got married 44 years ago.    ...
08/10/2026

💍 “TIL DEATH DO US PART” — Karen and Dave Sommers said those words to each other when they got married 44 years ago.    In 2021, their love story almost came to an end when Karen became deathly ill, in dire need of a liver transplant.  A Good Samaritan emerged in the form of an organ donor, and Karen’s life was saved.   When she woke up from the hours-long transplant surgery, she felt better than she’d felt in years.   This morning, Karen spoke to our team and expressed gratitude to the anonymous organ donor who saved her life.    
Then she pointed to her husband Dave, who was sitting in the front row of our learning center.   She started tearing up as she described how he cared for her in the years before her transplant:  “I couldn’t have done this without him”.
When Karen and Dave said their wedding vows more than 40 years ago, they meant them:  “To have and to hold, from this day forward... in sickness and in health....”
Both Karen and Dave are volunteers for Lifesharing.

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7436 Mission Valley Road
San Diego, CA
92108

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+16195437225

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