Dakota and Jackson Taylor
Family Hopes That Story Inspires Others To Become Living Donors
Most 18-year-olds spend the summer after graduation celebrating with friends or preparing for college. Jackson Taylor spent his saving his brother’s life.
In June 2025, the West Palm Beach resident donated two-thirds of his liver to his 23-year-old brother, Dakota, in a complex living-donor transplant surgery at Tampa General Hospital. Transplant surgeons Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy and Dr. Ashish Singhal led the simultaneous, seven-hour operations. Jackson ranks among the youngest living liver donors in the history of the hospital’s transplant program, which was established in 1974.
After years of frustration with other hospitals, the family was referred to Tampa General’s nationally recognized Transplant Institute. Among the largest and most experienced programs in the country, it has performed more than 15,000 transplants and offers all five major organ transplants for adults. Backed by academic medicine and a multidisciplinary team, Tampa General delivers comprehensive care before, during and long after transplant. Since establishing a network of specialists in South Florida, physicians can easily refer patients in Palm Beach and Martin counties to the hospital’s expert transplant team.
Dakota has battled serious illness his entire life. As a child, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and later primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a progressive liver disease that damages bile ducts and can lead to liver failure.
“He doesn’t remember not being sick,” said their father, David Taylor.
By 23, Dakota’s condition had worsened. His failing liver caused hepatic encephalopathy, a severe brain fog that forced him to leave classes and his IT job at Palm Beach State College. “I would forget what I was saying mid-sentence,” Dakota said. “It felt like my life was on hold.”
Once at Tampa General, the transplant team quickly evaluated Dakota, placed him on the transplant list and recommended pursuing a living donor, which is often the fastest path to transplant.
For Jackson, the decision was simple.
“I always figured I would donate once I turned 18 if Dakota still needed one,” he said.
On his 18th birthday, Jackson contacted the transplant team to begin testing. Within weeks, he learned he was a match. “We’re true blood brothers,” he said. Only 30 to 40 percent of evaluated living donors ultimately qualify.
The surgeries were successful. Jackson was discharged after five days; Dakota followed weeks later. One of David Taylor’s most cherished memories came the day after surgery. “They were sitting next to each other in recliners, tubes everywhere, just holding hands.”
Now home in West Palm Beach, both brothers are regaining strength and rebuilding their lives. “We’ve been through a lot,” Dakota said. “Together, we’re getting our lives back on track.”
The Taylors hope their story inspires others to consider living donation. More than 100,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant, and thousands die each year.
“When you donate part of your liver, it grows back,” Jackson said. “You’re not just saving a life—you’re giving someone their future.” The liver is the only organ that regenerates itself.
For more information about the Tampa General Transplant Institute and transplant care available to residents of Palm Beach and Martin counties, call (561) 739-4TGH.
