February 14, 2026 was more than Valentine’s Day.  It was NATIONAL DONOR DAY – a nation-wide observance focusing on The Gift of Life -- the safe and heroic donations of organs, eyes, tissue, blood, platelets and marrow.  Throughout the nation, National Donor Day was celebrated by encouraging people to register as deceased-donors AND living-organ donors. 

• In Arizona, nearly 5 million people have registered as organ and tissue donors through the Arizona Department of Transportation’s driver’s license and vehicle registration renewal process (www.AZMVDNow.gov). 

• One deceased-donor can save eight lives and heal 75 more through tissue donation.  

• For people in need of kidney and liver donations, state transplant centers (Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Mayo Clinic or University of Arizona Medical Center) provide medical evaluation and registration for living donations. 

 

Right here in Lake Havasu City, a new donor registration effort is now underway.  Through the National Kidney Registry (NKR), registration has commenced for LIVE donors to help give The Gift of Life to Lake Havasu full-time resident, public servant and beloved retired CA Police Captain Mike Handfield.

• Mike served the public as a police officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, and police captain.  Much of his career was spent protecting the most vulnerable – investigating and supervising domestic violence, child abuse, homicide, and other cases beyond our imagination.  Even in his retirement, Mike continued to help resolve cold cases, bringing closure to families he doesn’t even know.  Mike is a true hero.*

• Yet, Mike is also one of more than 800,000 Americans living with End Stage Kidney Disease.  He’s on the NKR yet the Registry list grows longer daily – with roughly 45,000 new patients added each year. 

• And, only about 20,000 DECEASED-donor kidney transplants are conducted annually.  The rest of the potential recipients wait --- many for 3 to 10 years – if they can survive that long.  Tragically, thousands die each year simply because time ran out before a donor came forward.   

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Mike Handfield can’t wait.  He needs a kidney now.  Fortunately, the number of LIVING  kidney donors (or donors of nonvital organs) is increasing. 

• Mike has been accepted into the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Phoenix, the largest integrated transplant provider in the United States and a leader in living-donor kidney transplants. 

• In 2023, nearly 6,300 living-donor transplants were performed in the U.S. 

• Through medical advancements such as sophisticated donor testing and robotics, living-donor transplants are safe - with donor in-hospital recovery times averaging just a day or two. 

• Mike isn’t used to being in the public eye for himself.  It’s very overwhelming for this humble, private man to ask for help.   Yet, Mike now needs The Gift of Life though a living kidney donation.  Mike needs a HERO.

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Leading the charge to Give Mike the Gift of Life is his best friend and wife of 45 years, Tansy Handfield.  A mother, retired physical therapist, member of Elks Lodge #2399, Havasu Stitchers and the Arizona Quilters Guild, Tansy is pushing forward with everything she has to secure a Living Kidney Donor for Mike.  TANSY NEEDS HELP FROM LAKE HAVASU. 

• While family and close friends have stepped forward to be tested as living donors, the screening process is complex, and many have been ruled out as donors through no fault of their own.  

• Donors must be at least 18 years old and in good physical and mental health.

• Two members of the Handfield family have already donated kidneys to others.  These family donors are now well into their 70s – living without complications.

• According to the National Kidney Foundation, living donors report a boost in self-esteem, and 9 out of 10 say they would do it again. 

 

To learn more about Giving Mike the Gift of Life, go to HandfieldsKidneyQuest.com as well as www.nkr.org/UUZ826. 

• The donor process is detailed yet straightforward.  After an initial screening, potential donors have blood tests to check for compatibility.  Mike is blood type O+. 

• The Handfields are seeking a Directed Donation which allows potential donors with compatible blood types O+ or O- to name Mike as the recipient of their donated kidneys. 

• If a Directed Donation can NOT be found, then any blood type can donate to Mike though the Paired Donation or Paired Exchange system which unites and swaps two pairs of living donors and their recipients so that each recipient receives a kidney from the other person’s donor.  (https://unos.org/transplant/living-donation/)

• Potential donors are assigned Independent Donor Advocates to represent their health, insurance, and all personal interests, every step of the way.   

• Finally, full medical exams and more tests are conducted until everyone feels and is assured that this is the right action to take. 

• As Tansy reminds us, “I truly believe God has blessed us with two kidneys so that, when the time comes, we might bless someone else with the Gift of Life.” 

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*Mike Handfield was born in New Jersey, raised in California and retired to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.  For nearly 40 years, Mike proudly served his community in law enforcement – selected as Officer of the Year (1983), Investigator of the Year (1990), and Sergeant of the Year (1995).  As a Supervisor, Mike twice received a Meritorious Medal of Merit (1995 and 1997) and twice received the Commitment to Service Award (2001 and 2003) for his Distinguished Service.  From 1994 to 2007, Mike served as the Department’s Public Information Officer, where he acted as the spokesperson between the Department, the media and community.  Although retired, Mike continued to help resolve unsolved homicide cold cases, bringing closure to families he’s never met.  Also, in retirement, he performs extensive employment background checks for multiple Orange County agencies, ensuring that prospective police officers, civilians and

professional staff are “the best of the best."