A text message that was never supposed to land in her phone changed everything for Orlando Police Officer Dani Torres. Officer Marija Sladic had meant to send the message to a colleague named Danielle, explaining she needed to reschedule because she was taking her father, Jovica Sladic, to dialysis training as he battled end-stage kidney disease with less than 15% kidney function remaining. Instead, it went to Torres, her fellow patrol officer, setting off a chain of events that ended with Torres donating one of her kidneys to Sladic's father.
The Orlando Police Department honored Torres this week with the FOX 35 Care Force Award, recognizing her decision to become a living kidney donor for the father of her squadmate, according to Orlando Police. Sladic and Torres had recently been assigned to the same patrol squad when the misdirected text arrived, according to FOX 35 Orlando, and it was that accidental message that first revealed the severity of Jovica Sladic's illness to Torres.
This morning, Orlando Police Officer Dani Torres was honored with the FOX35 Care Force Award after donating one of her kidneys to the father of her squadmate, Officer Marija Sladic.
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) August 6, 2026
Her selfless decision gave him the gift of a healthier future and reflects a commitment to… pic.twitter.com/qEOO7frBrU
A Wrong Number That Led to a Life-Saving Offer
Rather than simply reschedule and move on, Torres reached out after learning what her colleague's family was going through. What followed was a lengthy process of medical screening required of any potential living donor, a process that took an unexpected turn for Torres herself. During mandatory pre-donation testing, she faced a health scare of her own, requiring a breast biopsy, the station's report notes. The biopsy ultimately came back benign, and doctors went on to confirm that Torres was a compatible match for Jovica Sladic.
Orlando Police shared a video detailing Torres's donation journey alongside the announcement of her award, crediting her decision with giving Sladic's father a healthier future. Torres, an Orlando police officer, donated one of her kidneys to the father of her squadmate, the department said, describing the act as reflective of a broader commitment to service that extends well beyond patrol duty.
Why Living Donors Matter So Much
The Sladic-Torres story lands against a backdrop of severe scarcity in the nation's organ transplant system. Roughly 86% of everyone on the national organ transplant waitlist is waiting for a kidney, and an average of 12 people die every day in the United States while waiting for a transplant, according to the National Kidney Foundation. Patients waiting on a deceased-donor kidney typically spend three to five years on the national waitlist, whereas a living-donor transplant can often be arranged in under a year, per Donate Life America.
The benefits extend beyond simply skipping the wait. Kidneys transplanted from living donors typically function for 15 to 20 years or longer, compared with an average span of just 8 to 12 years for kidneys from deceased donors, the National Kidney Foundation reports. Florida has a long history with this kind of transplant medicine — UF Health Shands Transplant Center in Gainesville performed the state's first solid-organ kidney transplant in 1966 and its first living-donor kidney transplant in 1969, according to UF Health.
A Recurring Recognition for Central Florida First Responders
The FOX 35 Care Force Award is an ongoing community initiative by the Orlando-area station to honor local first responders, municipal employees and community leaders for exceptional service and acts of courage. Recent honorees have included an Ocoee police sergeant who rescued a woman from an overturned car, and in May, the station recognized Volusia County Sheriff's Deputy Royce James for his public service and community contributions across Central Florida.
Torres's donation also arrives amid a broader push within her own department to grow its ranks of female officers. Women make up more than 15% of all sworn personnel at the Orlando Police Department, surpassing the roughly 12% national average across U.S. law enforcement agencies, according to the City of Orlando. The department, which employs more than 1,023 sworn officers and over 150 civilian employees, participates in the national 30x30 Initiative aiming to raise female recruitment to 30% by 2030.
For Sladic's family, the gesture reached far beyond department statistics or award ceremonies. A misdirected text about a dialysis appointment turned into a second chance for her father, made possible by a colleague who happened to be looking at her phone at the right moment — and who was willing to undergo months of testing and a scare of her own, to see it through.
