(NewsNation) — Former U.S. Air Force member Lindsay Gutierrez dedicated six years to serving the nation, and after her military career, she took a life-saving step by becoming a double organ donor.  

She contributed a kidney to rescue a fellow veteran’s life and also donated 40% of her liver, providing someone else with a vital chance at life.

Gutierrez features as a model in the 2026 Pin-Ups For Vets calendar, a charitable group that supports enhancing veterans’ healthcare and allocates funds to VA hospitals to advance medical resources and expand their services.

She served in the Air Force until 2016.  In 2014, she was in a vehicle accident that left her with an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury during one of her deployments. 

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a TBI is “an injury to the head that affects the way the brain works. TBI can range from mild to severe” and “can change the way you think, feel, act, and move. Symptoms can range from brief confusion and a headache to seizures and being unconscious for a long period of time.”

Gutierrez said she went a few years without getting a diagnosis for her TBI and it was not until she finally found support at the VA and a neurologist who listened to her concerns. With her diagnosis, she was able to “navigate going forward” in her new chapter as a civilian.

In 2021, Gutierrez said she connected with a friend who talked about someone in need of a liver. 

“Knowing that I was O-positive, I recognized I could donate my blood to anybody so why not donate an organ? I didn’t think twice about answering her and saying, if he needs anything, let me know. Thankfully, he was able to receive the care that he needed but that seed was planted in my mind.” 

Later, Gutierrez found herself called to donate while at work one day when her supervisor handed her a copy of Military Times magazine and she saw an ad for Donor Outreach for Veterans (DOVE).

“My supervisor handed me a copy of the Military Times magazine and at this point we had never received this magazine in office ever, and all of the sudden something kind of clicks, because I see an add for Donor Outreach for Veterans, (DOVE), and I realize it’s a non-profit connecting veterans and active duty to donors, and I I thought I could do that, that’s something that I could do,” Gutierrez said.

She described the donor process as “challenging” but would do it “over and over again” if she were able.  

“The military veteran said her kidney recipient, named Reggie, is doing fantastic, I am so proud to say, and fun fact, how (his) wife wasn’t able to donate to him, but she was able to donate to the gentleman I was originally connected with and she was a match to him.”

Two years later, Gutierrez donated a portion of her liver anonymously on April 30 of last year.  

This week, she received a letter from her recipient who shared they were doing well since their surgery. The Pin-Up for Vets model hopes to connect with them in the near future.

“I wanted to give them that space to be able to reach out to me when that time was ready and they did. I am so excited to be able to share that I got my first letter from the recipient and I hope once we connect, I have written them back, I do hope that we can schedule a time to eventually meet.” 

Gutierrez shared a message of hope for her fellow veterans who may feel unsteady about their future.

“Give yourself that grace and know that your trajectory does not have to look like somebody else’s,” she said. “Give yourself time and space, and it’s ok to be where you’re at. You don’t have to rush anything and just enjoy each day as it comes because what God placed on my heart and my life is going to be different for somebody else but always remember that you have people around you that love and care for you and want to support you.”