Stories

She Donated Two Organs to Fellow Veterans.

Lindsay Gutierrez, U.S. Air Force Veteran, two-time living organ donor, tells their story to Vegas Veteran Voices, a Veteran-led nonprofit in Las Vegas.

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In this story
Lindsay Gutierrez, U.S. Air Force Veteran, two-time living organ donor
Service branch
U.S. Air Force
Published
Running time
52 minutes (52:48)
Production
Filmed by Vegas Veteran Voices, a Veteran-led nonprofit in Las Vegas

“I thought, okay, I’m not alone. There’s other people who have gone through this before.”

Lindsay GutierrezHear it at 27:02

About this story

Lindsay Gutierrez thought joining the military meant going straight to Vietnam. She was wrong about that. She was also wrong about Qatar having pyramids. But she wasn't wrong about the thing that mattered most, that service doesn't end when you take the uniform off.
Lindsay served six years as a Security Forces officer in the Air Force, deployed to Qatar and Djibouti, survived a vehicle rollover in the middle of the night that left her with a TBI she wouldn't get diagnosed for years, and came home to a civilian world that had no idea what to do with her, or her. Lindsay is also featured as Miss March in the Pin-Ups for Vets 2026 calendar, a nonprofit that has visited over 20,000 hospitalized Veterans across all 50 states.
Then one day a magazine landed on her desk at a congressional office. An ad. A kidney. A Veteran who needed one.
She planned the donation around a Yankees game and scheduled it for Memorial Day weekend on purpose.
That was the first one.
vegasveteranvoices.com

@vegasveteranvoices

In their words

“It was a rough transition because I’m getting out. I don’t have a job. I don’t have anything there for me. I have no family, no friends, nothing.”

Lindsay GutierrezHear it at 29:21

“I want to be able to give back to somebody. This is another way of continuing my service.”

Lindsay GutierrezHear it at 34:46

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