Warren, PA - In Warren County, a liver transplant anniversary turned into something much more — a celebration of friendship, survival, and the power of organ donation.
 
It’s been one year since Kate Lindquist underwent a life-saving liver transplant at UPMC in Pittsburgh. Her donor was longtime friend Molly Sanford McCarthy, who stepped forward after the two reconnected at Molly’s family’s Christmas tree farm.
 
The pair held a celebration this weekend with friends and family to mark the milestone — but the gathering took on even more meaning thanks to another guest in attendance.
 
"Every day I have gotten stronger," stated Kate Lindquist. "The procedure went so well, and my recovery has been great. I've had no more medical issues. The liver has grown, and everything has been really good."

"We definitely wanted to celebrate," added Molly Sanford McCarthy. "I am so grateful that this is the outcome. Kate is doing better than we expected, and our friend Steve just had his transplant as well - so our Liver-Palooza is even bigger and better than we anticipated!"
 
Steve Stanton, a friend of both women, is now four months into his own recovery after receiving a liver transplant earlier this year. His liver failure was the result of hepatitis B, contracted from a blood transfusion nearly 50 years ago.
 
"We didn't know fifty years ago that I had contracted hepatitis from my transfusion," Stanton explained. "But I started getting really sick - and then my friend Kristy offered to help."
 
In an extraordinary turn of events, one of Steve’s close friends, Kristy Carder, became his living donor.

"We have been friends a long time, and it was a good to help," said Carder. "He's saved me too, just in a different way."
 
Steve's recovery was challenging though, with him experiencing some tough days during the healing process. But that experience sparked a new mission.
 
Together, they founded the Liver Inn, in Pittsburgh, a newly formed 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to create a convalescence home for transplant recipients and their families — a place designed to offer support and comfort during the most difficult days after surgery.
 
The celebration also happened to fall just one day after Pennsylvania Donor Day, making the weekend even more symbolic for everyone involved.
 
What began as an anniversary for one transplant has now become a shared mission to help others — and a powerful reminder of the strength that comes from community and compassion.
 
For more information on living donations, visit here.
 
For more information about the Liver Inn, visit here or contact Kristy Carder at kristyschrec@gmail.com.