Julia Renz: Two Hearts, Three Lives

What does it mean to truly live? For Julia Renz, that question has never been abstract. A two-time heart transplant recipient, Julia received her first transplant at just four years old after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a rare condition affecting roughly 8 in 100,000 infants. Despite the weight of that diagnosis, she spent her childhood doing what kids do: dancing, playing baseball, shooting hoops, and living fully.

But at 17, her body began rejecting her transplanted heart. For four terrifying months, she wore an external defibrillator while waiting for a new heart, one that came when a donor her own age passed away. Sitting with that reality, that her life continues because someone else's ended, is something Julia speaks about with rare honesty and grace.

Now a recent college grad with a triple major in neuroscience, psychology, and biology at CU Boulder, Julia has transformed that complexity into purpose, and she is a passionate voice for transplant awareness. It wasn't always easy to share her story. For a long time, she didn't want her medical history to define her. But a shift in perspective changed everything: her uniqueness isn't a burden to hide, it's a platform to help others.

"I received a gift, and now all I can do is live life to the fullest."