The Golden State Warriors hosted a special event on Friday, February 23, 2024, to honor the gift of life and the legacy of African Americans in the field of organ donation and transplantation. The event, called African American Heritage Night, was held in partnership with Donor Network West, the organ procurement organization that serves Northern California and Nevada.
The Gift of Life
Organ donation is a life-saving and life-changing act of generosity that can benefit people of all races and backgrounds. However, there is a significant need for more organ donors, especially among African Americans, who make up 13% of the U.S. population but 29% of the national transplant waiting list. According to Donor Network West, there are more than 10,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in their service area, and 58% of them are people of color.
To raise awareness and encourage more people to register as organ donors, the Warriors and Donor Network West invited organ recipients and donor families to share their stories and experiences at the African American Heritage Night. Some of the guests included:
- Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, a nephrologist and author who donated a kidney to her husband, Robert Phillips, in 2003. She wrote a memoir about their journey, called “Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers: A Kidney Doctor’s Search for the Perfect Match”.
- Tiffany Crider, a heart transplant recipient who received her new heart in 2016, after suffering from a rare condition called sarcoidosis that damaged her heart. She is an advocate for organ donation and a member of the Transplant Advisory Council at Stanford Health Care.
- The family of Nia Wilson, a 18-year-old girl who was fatally stabbed at a BART station in Oakland in 2018. Her family decided to donate her organs and tissues, and helped save and heal six people. Her father, Ansar Muhammad, said: “She was a giving person, and we wanted to keep her spirit alive by giving back to others.”
- The family of Lyle Pascua, a 25-year-old man who died from a brain aneurysm in 2019. His family also chose to donate his organs and tissues, and gave the gift of life to four people. His mother, Lorna Pascua, said: “He was a loving son, brother, and friend, and he always wanted to help others. We are proud of his legacy and his decision to be an organ donor.”
The Legacy of African Americans
The event also celebrated the contributions and achievements of African Americans in the field of organ donation and transplantation, both as donors and as medical professionals. Some of the notable figures highlighted were:
- Dr. Samuel L. Kountz, a pioneer in kidney transplantation who performed the first successful kidney transplant between humans who were not identical twins in 1961. He also developed techniques to reduce organ rejection and improve survival rates. He was the first African American to be appointed professor of surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1967.
- Dr. Velma Scantlebury, the first African American woman to become a transplant surgeon in the U.S. She has performed more than 2,000 transplants and has mentored many young surgeons. She is currently the associate director of the Kidney Transplant Program at Christiana Care in Delaware.
- Dr. Clive Callender, the founder and director of the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center, which is one of the largest and most successful transplant programs for African Americans in the country. He also established the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) in 1991, to educate and increase organ donation among minority communities.
- The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the non-profit organization that manages the U.S. organ transplant system and maintains the national waiting list. UNOS was founded in 1984 by a group of transplant professionals, including Dr. John J. Curtis, an African American surgeon who was the first medical director of UNOS.
The Celebration of Life
The African American Heritage Night was a festive and inspiring occasion that brought together the Warriors, Donor Network West, and the organ donation and transplantation community. The event featured:
- A pre-game panel discussion with organ recipients, donor families, and medical experts, moderated by Warriors sideline reporter Kerith Burke.
- A special performance of the national anthem by Tiffany Crider, the heart transplant recipient, accompanied by the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts.
- A half-time presentation of the Gift of Life Award to the families of Nia Wilson and Lyle Pascua, by Warriors president and COO Rick Welts and Donor Network West CEO Janice Whaley.
- A post-game meet and greet with Warriors players and coaches, including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Steve Kerr.
The event also encouraged fans to register as organ donors and support the cause of organ donation and transplantation. Fans who purchased tickets through the event link received a commemorative African American Heritage Night T-shirt, designed by Bay Area artist and muralist Timothy B. Fans who showed their donor registration card or registered on-site also received a Warriors drawstring bag.
The event was a success and a testament to the power of organ donation and transplantation to save and improve lives, and to the legacy of African Americans in advancing the field. As Donor Network West CEO Janice Whaley said: “We are honored to partner with the Warriors to celebrate the gift of life and the contributions of African Americans to organ donation and transplantation. We hope this event will inspire more people to register as organ donors and join us in our mission to save and heal lives.”
