Erin Barker was an active mom of four young children, competing in a 5K race in August 2024. But by Halloween, she was bedridden and unable to care for her family, let alone keep up her active lifestyle.
She soon learned she was experiencing heart failure.
At age 18, Barker survived leukemia. The chemotherapy used in her treatment, combined with the physical toll of four pregnancies, had damaged her heart. By the time she was placed on the organ transplant list, her heart was pumping at just 11% capacity.
On Feb. 14, 2025, Barker received a life-saving gift: a new heart. Barker now jokes that her Valentine’s Day transplant would make a perfect plot for a romantic comedy.
Barker’s heart transplant didn’t just save her life — it saved her family.
“We were staring down the very real possibility of my little kids — ages 2, 4, 6 and 9 — being raised motherless,” she said. “Thanks to my donor, my children have their mom. I am so thankful and grateful. It’s a gift I will never take for granted.”
A national leader
Barker’s story is one of a record-breaking number of transplants performed by the Intermountain Health transplant program. In 2025, the program became the first in Utah to surpass 500 transplants in a single year, performing 515 procedures.
Dr. Jean Botha, transplant surgeon and medical director of Intermountain Health Transplant Program, credited the medical team, calling them a “SEAL Team Six” of health care.
Many patients with more complex issues turn to Intermountain Health for their care.
“Where everyone else says no to these patients, we’re the program that says yes,” Botha said.
This “yes” has propelled the program into the national spotlight.
According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, which is the national standard for evaluating transplant programs, Intermountain isn’t just the only program in the U.S. with both liver and kidney programs ranked in the top five — it is also the No. 1 program for heart transplant survival in the nation.
Since its start in 1983, the program has completed more than 6,900 transplants, serving patients across the Intermountain West, including Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana.
Sister receives transplant 20 years after losing her brother
While Barker’s journey was about the future of her young family, the journey of 64-year-old Amy Baird, who knows firsthand the heartbreak that comes for those who aren’t so lucky to receive a transplant, was about experiencing a more positive outcome on the donor list.
Baird had been sick for three years without any idea what was causing it. During a routine gallbladder removal, doctors discovered she had Stage 4 liver cirrhosis. It is caused by a condition known as MASH (Metabolic dysfunction-associated Steatohepatitis), a progressive liver disease where excess fat accumulation leads to chronic inflammation and cellular damage, according to a release from Intermountain Health.
“Nothing could have shocked me more,” Baird shared.
Shortly after being placed on the liver transplant list, Baird received a new liver on Dec. 21, 2025, just days before Christmas, and 20 years after she lost her brother. He died while on the waiting list for his own liver transplant in Virginia.
“It’s amazing how good I feel today,” she said. “The transplant has dramatically improved the quality of my life. I feel incredibly grateful for a second chance at life and am so thankful to my donor and to the Intermountain transplant team for saving my life.”
Of the 515 transplants performed in 2025, 256 were kidney and kidney-pancreas transplants, 227 were liver transplants, and 32 were heart transplants. Jennifer Johnson-Park, a living donor transplant coordinator, told Deseret News the most rewarding part is seeing the process, which can last for years, come together for patients.
The story of a living donor
One of those contributors was Ofelia Murillo. Her journey began as a choice to help a friend in need by donating a kidney. After a year of testing and paperwork, they learned on Sept. 25, 2025, that they were not a match.
Instead of walking away, Murillo chose to remain in the program as a donor. Her decision created a chain, allowing her kidney to go to a stranger in need and enabling her friend to move up on the list for a compatible match.
“I knew I had nothing to lose,” Murillo said.
“Heavenly Father blessed us with two kidneys so you can donate one,” she later added, encouraging those around her to become donors.
Looking to the future
As Intermountain looks ahead to its next 500 transplants, the mission remains the same: “to help people live the healthiest lives possible,” according to president and CEO of Intermountain Health Rob Allen.
For those still on the waiting list, Botha noted that the group of medical professionals is ready to help as many people as they can.
“The team hasn’t even broken a sweat.”
How to become a donor
For those who wish to become a donor, they can sign up online through a state registry or in person at a local motor vehicle department.
For those who wish to become a living donor, the process is a bit different, but allows donors to donate a kidney, a piece of their liver and certain other organs and tissues while still living.
