Over 110,000 Americans are waiting for a life-saving transplant right now — and about 2,500 of them live right here in Kansas and Missouri. On this episode of the Kansas City Bucket List Podcast, I sat down with Kim Harbur, co-founder of Kansas City non-profit Gift of Life, and Kirsten Finn, the organization's Transplant Mentors Program Director, for a conversation that's equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful.
Kim shares the deeply personal story behind Gift of Life: Her son Luke was born with liver failure and received a life-saving transplant at just 11 months old — an experience that led Kim and her husband to found the organization nearly 30 years ago. What started as two people and a homemade budget has grown into a nationwide nonprofit that has educated over half a million high school students, matched more than 1,200 families with transplant mentors across 28+ states, and helped make Kansas City one of the highest organ-donor-rate cities in the country.
Kirsten opens up about her own family's journey — her son Connor's cord blood transplant — and explains how Gift of Life's Transplant Mentors program pairs patients and caregivers with trained mentors who've walked the same path, offering support no medical professional can replicate.
In this episode, we cover:
- The real stats behind the national transplant waiting list and why Kansas City leads the nation in donor rates
- How to register as an organ donor and why the conversation with your family matters more than the checkbox on your license
- The difference between living donors, deceased donors, and DCD donors
- What you can actually donate (organs, tissue, bone marrow, cord blood — and yes, even part of a lung, while you're alive)
- Common myths about organ donation, religion, and funeral arrangements
- How Gift of Life's Lifesavers program reaches 100+ Kansas City-area high schools
- The Transplant Mentors program and its recent launch of a Living Donor Program
- Upcoming Gift of Life events in Kansas City: Go See Do, Golf for Life, the Lifesavers Rally, and Trivia Night
- Advice for families navigating a child's medical crisis — and how not to forget the siblings along the way
This is a call-to-action episode. Whether you're ready to register as an organ donor, want to volunteer, or are simply looking to start the conversation with your own family, Gift of Life makes it easy to get involved right here in Kansas City — and wherever you're listening from.
Links & Resources:
- Gift of Life website: https://giftdonor.org/
- Register as a donor: https://giftdonor.org/participate/become-an-organ-donor/
- Learn Lifesavers online program: https://giftdonor.org/programs/life-savers/
- Gift of Life upcoming events https://giftdonor.org/category/events-and-news/
- Follow Gift of Life on social media:
- https://www.instagram.com/giftoflifeks/
- https://www.facebook.com/GiftofLifeKC
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/giftdonor/
If this episode moved you, share it with someone who might be waiting for a transplant, considering becoming a donor, or looking for a meaningful way to give back in Kansas City. And don't forget to subscribe to Kansas City Bucket List so you never miss a story worth telling.
Thank you to our podcast host, sponsor and media partner, Real Media! Visit RealMediaKC.com to learn more about their full service audio and video services!
Chapters
0:00 – Intro & episode preview
1:27 – Meet Kim Harbur & Kirsten Finn of Gift of Life
2:07 – The staggering stats behind the transplant waiting list
3:53 – Kim's story: son Luke's liver failure diagnosis
5:27 – Building a nonprofit from scratch: 28 years of Gift of Life
7:01 – Education, mentoring & advocacy: the three pillars
7:04 – Inside the Lifesavers high school program
8:16 – The Transplant Mentors Program with Kirsten Finn
9:46 – Why Kansas City leads the nation in organ donor rates
12:14 – Going national: how COVID changed everything
13:02 – Busting common organ donation myths
16:26 – What can you actually donate? Organs vs. tissue explained
19:19 – The hardest moments: losing teens who chose to be donors
20:23 – Aaron's story: a direct donation connection
22:31 – Kirsten's son Connor and his cord blood transplant journey
24:14 – The "10 Truths" of organ donation
26:39 – Living donors, deceased donors & DCD donors explained
28:38 – Connecting donor families and recipients
29:39 – What you can donate while you're still living
32:16 – Lessons from nearly three decades running a nonprofit
35:39 – How to get involved: register, volunteer, donate
36:45 – Golf for Life, the Lifesavers Rally & Trivia Night
38:06 – Go See Do: Gift of Life's signature KC fundraiser
39:52 – The future of Transplant Mentors & living donation
43:14 – Why kidney transplants are the most common
44:21 – Advice for families: don't forget the siblings
52:45 – Fighting for organ donation education in Missouri schools
54:22 – Why they love calling Kansas City home
57:20 – Final call to action & how to register as a donor
