"Please join us for Iowa Donor Network’s first-ever Virtual Green 5K on Saturday, October 10, 2020.  Not even COVID-19 can stop us from honoring the lives of organ and tissue donors, celebrating the lives of recipients, and recognizing those who continue to wait for a life-saving transplant!  The Virtual Green 5K will take place of our largest annual fundraising and awareness 5Ks, the Green 5K and Donor Dash, in 2020.  We hope you’ll join us and invite your friends and family from around the globe to raise awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation.

“…Now, in her honor, Ed and all who give to the Dragonfly fund continue to champion the resiliency of transplant patients and families by supporting the work of our Health Care Heroes at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics through the Dragonfly Fund for Transplant Support.”

Last week, we received a donation with a very special letter included. Thank you to Logan for thinking of us with the Dragonfly Transplant Fund. Your donation means so much to us and the lives of those we hope to improve over the years ahead. 

According to a report in The Gazette, "a total of 92 Iowans had authorized donating 290 organs for transplant this past year, according to the Iowa Donor Network, the state's organ procurement organization, ... The Iowa Donor Network also reported a total of 929 tissue donors in 2019."

“With Deb’s passing this spring, the perpetual torch has been lit - the Dragonfly Transplant Fund will live on into the future! If nothing else, it has been fired up by the support we have received during this difficult time for our family, friends, and supporters. With focusing on helping the families and caregivers of transplant patients, the effect on the overall program will only improve from here. Deb is the matriarch and inspiration; she is the Dragonfly.”

The founders of the Dragonfly Transplant Fund, Deb and Ed Brown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had a special reason to celebrate on Sunday, April 12th. Not only was it a very special Easter, but they were celebrating their wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Deb & Ed!

Due to COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to POSTPONE the The Dragonfly Transplant Fund's 3rd Annual Golf Outing & Fundraiser to Friday, September 11, 2020 at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in Riverside, Iowa. Ed Brown will be contacting all registrants this week. Your registration will be applied to the newly scheduled date.

The founders of the Dragonfly Transplant Fund, Deb and Ed Brown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, love sharing the story of their experience with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ Transplant Center and the Iowa Donor Network. ​

April is Donate Life Month. It is "a month to celebrate those who have received transplants, to recognize those who continue to wait, to honor donors and donor families, and to thank registered donors for giving hope."

Iowa Donor Network will host the 13th annual Green 5K Fun Run and Walk on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines. The course will be on the scenic path around Blue Heron Lake. Join us to honor the lives of organ and tissue donors, celebrate the lives of recipients, and recognize those who continue to wait for a life-saving transplant.

It’s been almost two years since the Dragonfly Transplant Fund was founded. We have said "thank you" multiple times to many of you over the last two years, but as the year comes to a close, we want to say it again: THANK YOU!

This week, we were ecstatic to celebrate Deb's 3rd "Re-Birthday" with our friends at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics!

In November 2016, Deb received her second chance at life after an 11-hour liver transplant at UIHC Transplant Center. In honor of the third anniversary of this incredible life event, Deb and Ed were gifted a cake from Iced Bakery in Marion, Iowa in a custom dragonfly design. Deb and Ed shared their marble cake with strawberry frosting at UIHC on Wednesday, November 6th.

“We, as well as the Browns, anxiously awaited word that perhaps this would be the last trip involving an actual transplant. Finally, the ultimate gift occurred and Star was able to get the rest of her family back home full-time!" 

“I am very proud of the way my uncle and aunt Ed and Deb are using their new beginning in life to give back to others.  Whether it is the dedicated room or transplant awareness, the Dragonfly Fund is a charity I will continue to support and be involved with in the future."