Imagine depending on someone you never met to save your life. That was my family’s experience. My father needed a heart transplant because of a medical condition. His life depended on a generous person — his donor, our hero — who chose to say YES to organ donation. Thanks to their gift, my father lived for nearly 20 more years. We had two more decades of time together.
Everybody deserves a second chance. But in our region, about 5,000 children and adults are waiting for a life-saving transplant. Their future depends on compassionate people who register as an organ and tissue donor.
I now work for Gift of Life Donor Program. Our mission is to give each person on the waitlist — our family members, friends and neighbors — their second chance at life. Everyone is invited to join this life-saving mission and share the power of donation during National Donate Life Month this April.
The impact of a single donor is extraordinary. One organ donor can save up to eight lives, and a tissue donor can transform the lives of about 100 people through precious gifts of skin to heal burn victims, bone and ligaments for orthopedic surgeries, corneas to give the gift of sight and more.
For the five ways to celebrate National Donate Life Month, click here