FORT WORTH, Texas — On his 23^rd birthday, Saaith Lara wasn’t thinking about gifts for himself. Instead, he was focused on something meaningful he wanted to give to the man who has given him so much.

Saaith Lara and Alonso Lara

Alonso Lara is not Saaith’s biological father, but the 63-year-old resident of Dumas, located in the Texas Panhandle, took in Saaith and his two sisters when Saaith was just 3 months old and, as a single parent, raised them as his own.

So, on Dec. 19, just days before Alonso was to undergo a kidney transplant at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, Saaith let his father in on a secret he’d been keeping: He would be the one donating the kidney.

“He thought it was coming from someone else,” Saaith recalled. “He started crying and thanking me for doing that even though he didn’t want me to. I couldn’t hold it back either. I was just glad I was able to do that for him. He’s done so much for me. If I could have him around for so much longer, why wouldn’t I?”

Saaith was one of 22 individuals who donated a kidney at Texas Health Fort Worth in 2025 – the highest number of living kidney donors since the transplant program started in 1986. The hospital also set a record last year for the highest number of kidney transplants performed in a single year.

“This record-breaking achievement reflects the extraordinary dedication of our transplant team as well as the inspiring generosity of donors,” said Jared Shelton, FACHE, president of Texas Health Fort Worth. “Every kidney transplant represents a second chance at life for recipients – more time with their loved ones and an opportunity to live life without the limitations of kidney disease. We are honored to be a part of making that possible for so many patients and their families.”

In all, Texas Health Fort Worth performed 71 kidney transplants last year, beating the previous record of 65 transplants set in 1998 and far outnumbering the 56 kidney transplants performed in 2024. The 22 living-donor surgeries topped the previous record set in 2002 by two and were nine more than in 2024.

Robyn Dye, program director, said multiple factors contributed to the rise in transplants:

• Adding a dedicated living-donor transplant coordinator
• Adding online living-donor applications in English and Spanish on the Texas Health website
• Broadening acceptance criteria in alignment with living-donor regulations.
• Providing “Conversation starter” cards to patients to help them talk with friends and family about donation.
• Offering targeted education during the recipients’ evaluation by the surgeon, transplant coordinator and social worker about the benefits of living donors and how to find one.

In addition, personal stories shared by donors and recipients have raised awareness about the need for kidney donations — and the life‑changing impact those gifts can have, said Eric Siskind, M.D., surgical director of the transplant program at Texas Health Fort Worth.

Among those stories in 2025 was the Fort Worth man who, just four days after receiving his transplant, married his fiancée, Cynthia McIntosh, in a hospital chapel wedding organized by hospital caregivers in March. Another is Amanda McCowen, a mother from Terrell who donated a kidney in October to her ex-husband’s current wife, Angela Maples. Both stories drew local and national attention.

“All of these wonderful news stories inspire other living donors to come forward,” said Siskind, a member of Texas Health Surgical Specialists, a Texas Health Physicians Group practice. “From the very beginning, we’ve led with love — and that has been our greatest strength, showcasing the triumphs of the human spirit.”

**Providers employed by Texas Health Physicians Group are not employees or agents of Texas Health Resources hospitals.