The CRISIS
Nearly 95,000 Americans need a kidney transplant. Twelve people die every day waiting for one, languishing painfully on years-long waiting lists. Nearly one million people are treated for end-stage kidney disease, and half a million endure dialysis daily, costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $90 billion a year.
It is one of the most solvable crises in American medicine. There are more than 356,000 congregations in the United States. If just one healthy person in only one-third of them stepped forward as a willing living donor, the kidney shortage would end.
“There is no greater power for good in the world than the power of congregations.”
— Pastor Rick Warren
“Where will we find the people who have the heart to give a kidney? Congregations!”
– Ron Wolfson, living kidney donor
The opportunity
You may know someone who needs a kidney, or someone who offered to donate to a loved one, only to learn they were not a match. What most people don’t know is that this does not have to be the end of the story. The person in need does not need a match; they just need a donor.
It is called kidney paired exchange or a kidney swap, and To Save One Life’s (TSOL) founder lived it. Ron Wolfson’s wife, Susie, needed a kidney, and Ron wanted to donate his “spare” to her. But he wasn’t a compatible match. The solution: Ron donated his kidney to a stranger who was a match for him, and in return, Susie received a compatible living-donor kidney from another stranger — in a matter of months, rather than years waiting for a deceased-donor organ. This option exists today. The challenge is that not enough people know about it. Living donor transplants have better outcomes than deceased-donor transplants, yet living donation has remained flat for many years. The barrier isn’t medical — it’s educational. Most people don’t know that:
Kidney paired exchange eliminates the need for a direct match.
Donors can live full, healthy lives with one kidney.
Living donation is remarkably safe.
Donors are prioritized if they ever need a transplant themselves.
The solution
To Save One Life mobilizes America’s 356,000+ congregations to address the kidney shortage through living donation. Drawing on a sacred teaching found across faith traditions – “to save one life is to save a world” – the campaign educates congregations by providing resources for an annual awareness event and equipping clergy and lay leaders to act when someone needs to find a kidney donor. TSOL builds collaboration across denominations and creates space for willing donors to step forward.
We can make a difference together.
If just one person in one-third of America’s congregations steps forward as a willing living donor, we solve the kidney crisis — not someday, today.
how it works
EDUCATE: We close the knowledge gap about how kidney paired exchange works.
COLLABORATE: We work within and across faith traditions whose shared values around preserving life make them natural partners, so individual efforts become collective action.
MOTIVATE: We inspire people to move from awareness to commitment. By asking one congregation to inspire one donor, we make action feel achievable.
FACILITATE: By partnering with transplant centers and organizations that facilitate living kidney donation, we create clear pathways from interest to donation.
the impact
For Donors: The extraordinary opportunity to save one life, normalized and supported by the community.
For Patients: Hope and practical pathways when congregations become sources of support and solutions.
For Congregations: Turnkey resources to engage their communities in meaningful, lifesaving work.
For Healthcare: New willing living donors will reduce wait times and improve outcomes.
For Country: Eliminating the wait lists can save the nation up to $90 billion annually.
The Book
To Save One Life: The Miracle of Living Kidney Donation, Transplantation, and How You Can Make It Happen (2026)
by Ron Wolfson, PhD, and Mikel Prieto, MD
A deeply personal narrative and a practical guide to the world of living kidney donation.
The book tells the story of Susie Wolfson’s journey as a kidney recipient and her husband Ron’s decision to become her living donor through paired kidney exchange. It weaves their experience with clear, authoritative medical guidance from Dr. Mikel Prieto, a leading kidney surgeon. Against the backdrop of a persistent kidney shortage, the book equips patients, families, faith communities, and potential donors with the knowledge and tools to understand the donation process.
By Ron Wolfson, PhD, and Mikel Prieto, MD
about to save one life
To Save One Life was founded by Ron Wolfson,PhD, Susie Wolfson, Dr. Mikel Prieto, and Bart Pachino. Ron is a living kidney donor and both Susie and Bart are kidney recipients. All navigated kidney paired swaps and discovered how little awareness exists about this lifesaving procedure. Prieto is a eminent transplant surgeon at the Mayo Clinic with decades of expertise in kidney transplantation. The campaign emerged from a simple recognition: the stories, values, and convening power of faith communities can transform the landscape of kidney donation.
Join us in mobilizing the values, trust, and convening power of faith communities to end the kidney shortage.