During the spring of 2023, Captain Patrick Johnson, a graduate of the FBI National Academy, was attending an FBI re-trainer class and learned of an NYPD detective who donated a kidney to a program to go to someone he didn’t even know. Johnson became interested in the Kidney Donation program at that time. After much prayer and even more research, he came to the realization that he was being led to do the same. Ultimately, he selected the kidney donor program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Testing to determine if he was a candidate for donation began in the fall of 2023. In November, after numerous tests and consultation with various medical professionals, he was told he would be a good candidate for donation. He learned that the hospital was planning a chain of 7 donation events in December, in which the program would select 7 recipients who did not have familial or other matches identified to provide donations. He was selected to participate in that program.

On December 11, 2023, Johnson’s donation surgery was performed and the transplant process went perfectly. Once the recipient received the kidney, it immediately began to function without any issues. In Lt. Johnson’s own words, “It was a blessing from God to have led me down this road. To know that I have truly helped someone in need is a privilege that will never be taken away”.

Being an organ donor is a difficult decision, and potentially dangerous to one’s health, when the individual receiving your organ is known, but to commit to organ donation when you don’t know the life you’re saving is even more selfless. For this act, Captain Patrick Johnson is the 2024 Heart of Law Enforcement Service Before Self award recipient.