KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Every organ donor can save up to eight lives and improve the lives of 75 more people through tissue donation.
"My pre-transplant journey is really my whole entire life," said Billy Jarvis. "I grew up with a family history of kidney disease. So my mom, her brothers and sisters, when I was growing up, I had transplants all on dialysis. And I came to college here at UT. I started having the same kind of symptoms and then had a transplant at 21, I was blessed to keep it for about 31 years. Got COVID, like many recipients did, and it caused my kidney to fail ... One of my good friends stepped up and we had kind of an exchange type deal."
Jarvis said he's had three kidney transplants in his life, and the most recent was last July. He said he and his friend participated in an exchange network.
"He was not a match for me," said Jarvis. "But he gave to someone in California ... I got mine from a young man in Minnesota. So, that didn't exist many years ago. So now there's this kind of network."
He said he's thankful to be given another chance.
"I was still in college and it gave me a chance to be a husband and a father and a coach and a teacher, and then eventually come to work here and hopefully impact lives every single day of people that are going through the same thing that my family went through," he said. "And it's been a huge blessing to meet all these donor families and become part of their lives, and my story is just kind of intertwined with those two."
He said his dad tried to give him a kidney, but it didn't take. He ended up getting a kidney from a man who passed away in 1991.
" I've got to live an incredible life over the last almost 34 years now. I'm 54 years old, never in my wildest dreams that I thought I would live to see 30. And there's no reason I can't live to be 75, 80," he said. "In 1991, his legacy still lives on many, many years later. And I've kept and I've honored that wish and his gift and I try to wake up every morning and try to, you know, be the best person I can possibly be and make an impact and be enthusiastic about life. Because that's really what, you know, donation is. One family goes through tragedy and gives to another family. And you know, I just happen to be one of the lucky people that got a chance to, you know, to have that gift."
Tennessee Door Services said 2023 was a record-breaking year in the state for organ and tissue donations.
"I've been here for almost a quarter century, 24 years now," said Jarvis. "And when I started, we did less than 100 donors and transplanted about 307 organs in this year. You know, we did five 506 donor heroes and transplanted 1,369 organs and saved that many lives."
Last Saturday's Tennessee game against Vanderbilt also served as the kick-off of the fourth annual #BeTheGift Showdown. This event launched a statewide organ donation registration challenge.
"I think it's very important to us as a team," said Gregg Polinsky, the Tennessee Men's Basketball Assistant Coach. "I think our guys recognize what it means and I know our coaching staff and the University of Tennessee understands it."
Tennessee Donor Services said last year, more than 170,000 Tennesseans registered to be organ donors.
"I myself am one. I don't know at my age if anybody would want my organs," said Polinsky. "But it's something, it's what it's a gift to life."