2025 Scholarship Winner: Sara Kamp-Austin
September 2, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS – Sara Kamp-Austin, 46, of Crown Point, Indiana has been awarded a $1,000 educational scholarship from Indiana Donor Network Foundation.
Indiana Donor Network Foundation established its scholarship fund in 2005 to provide educational scholarships for family members of Indiana residents who are organ and tissue donors, living donors, transplant recipients or people waiting for lifesaving transplants.
Those selected as scholarship recipients often help raise awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation in saving and healing lives.
This year, the Foundation awarded $25,000 in scholarships, made possible due to the generosity of financial contributions made by Indiana Donor Network employees and supporters of the Foundation.
Other 2025 scholarship recipients include Lainey Akins of Fishers ($7,000); Alyssa Heath of Wadesville and Elsa Estridge of Chesterton ($5,000); Allison Kirts of Newton, Illinois, and Katherine Fisher of Connersville ($3,000); and Emma Murphy of Indianapolis ($1,000).
In the essay portion of her scholarship application, Kamp-Austin shared her connection to organ donation.
> Download a high-resolution image of Kamp-Austin
“In her teens, my mother traveled to New York to receive the gift of a cornea donation. Someone gave her the selfless gift of sight in her right eye,” she said. “Until she died, she truly was in awe that she could be the recipient of such a meaningful gift from an individual she would never be able to thank.”
Additionally, Kamp-Austin’s older sister became a living donor in 2024 when she donated a kidney to an ailing friend.
“A beautiful friendship was forged from my sister’s act. It wasn’t just an organ that her friend received. It was a gift of hope. Her friend was able to cast away her fears of how many weeks she had yet to live and welcome a new grandchild this past fall.”
A graduate of Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights, Illinois, Kamp-Austin is currently pursuing a nursing degree at Valparaiso University.
Despite age or medical history, anyone can sign up to be a donor at DonateLifeIndiana.org. Learn more about Indiana Donor Network.
Indiana Donor Network’s mission is to save and enhance the quality of life through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Its vision is to be a leader in organ and tissue recovery. Founded in 1987, the organization coordinates donation in 85 of the state’s 92 counties and serves transplant hospitals throughout the U.S.
ABOUT INDIANA DONOR NETWORK
The decision to become an organ, tissue and cornea donor is a decision to give the gift of life. Indiana Donor Network serves as the vital link between donors and patients waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, healing tissue and corneas to restore sight. The organization is a federally designated organ recovery organization and accredited tissue bank serving 85 of Indiana’s 92 counties. Its team of nearly 400 dedicated professionals is committed to saving and healing lives through donation and transplantation, championing the cause through education and outreach and supporting donor families in their time of need. For more or to sign up as a donor, visit Indiana Donor Network online.
ABOUT INDIANA DONOR NETWORK FOUNDATION
As a subsidiary of Indiana Donor Network founded in 1997, Indiana Donor Network Foundation enhances the lives of those touched by donation through education, innovation, caring and support. The foundation raises funds through individual contributions, special events and sponsorships to support transplant recipients and the families of donor heroes. For more, visit Indiana Donor Network Foundation online.
Indiana Donor Network® and the Indiana Donor Network Foundation® are federally registered trademarks.
ABOUT DONATE LIFE INDIANA
Since 1998, Donate Life Indiana has been the state-authorized nonprofit organization responsible for managing the Indiana donor registry. Its mission is to save lives by creating opportunities for all Indiana citizens to sign up on the organization’s official state registry while striving to raise awareness for organ, tissue and cornea donation and transplantation through public education. For more, visit Donate Life Indiana online.
