8th annual Donate Life Legacy Walk is Saturday, June 1

The eighth annual Donate Life Legacy Walk is a celebration honoring the gift of life given through organ, eye and tissue donation and helps raise awareness about the importance of joining the organ, eye and tissue donor registry. 

Did you know? Every organ donor can save up to eight lives; tissue donors can impact more than 100 lives. 

Midwest Transplant Network welcomes families of donor heroes, transplant recipients and their families, medical professionals, community leaders and supporters of organ, eye and tissue donation to the Donate Life Legacy Walk. 

The free, family-friendly event includes a Tribute Trail, a live concert with a local band, a bubble ceremony in remembrance of donor heroes, food trucks to purchase meals and treats, yard games with cornhole and tumbling towers, and informational booths featuring Saving Sight and Team MO-KAN.

Donate Life Legacy Walk participants — there are more than 1,500 registered to date — can stroll the Tribute Trail at their leisure throughout the evening. Guests are encouraged to bring portable lawn chairs or blankets for seating; picnic baskets are welcome.

WHEN: Saturday, June 1
6 p.m. Welcome remarks from stage, activities begin
7:30 p.m. Remembrance bubbles
9 p.m. Event ends

WHERE: National WWI Museum and Memorial North Lawn
2 Memorial Drive
Kansas City, MO 64108

MEDIA: Midwest Transplant Network leaders will be available for interviews from 5:15-5:45 p.m. in 10-minute time slots. Please call 913-574-7955 to schedule in advance.

Interviews with a donor hero family and a transplant recipient will also be available. 

MORE: Midwest Transplant Network has served the people of Kansas and western Missouri for over 50 years. More than 7,000 organ donors from Midwest Transplant Network’s donor service area have contributed to over 32,000 lifesaving transplants since MTN’s inception in 1972. Additionally, more than 23,000 tissue donors have given gifts in this timeframe, enabling nearly 250,000 life-enhancing tissue transplants for burn victims, cancer survivors, individuals with sports-related injuries and more.

Organ donor heroes from Midwest Transplant Network’s service area saved the lives of 12 people with an organ transplant in 1972. In 2023, that number was 988, illustrating the thoughtfulness of people in Kansas and western Missouri; the strong support from MTN’s hospital and community partners; and MTN’s commitment to continual improvement and saving more lives.

CONTACTS:

Nez Savala, APR, Director, Community Engagement and Public Relations
913-574-7955 nsavala@mwtn.org   

John Rose, Associate Vice President, FINN Partners
857-415-9280 john.rose@finnpartners.com