Donate Life

In the past few weeks I have come to realize how important the gift of donation is. Up until recently I never knew anyone who had received or needed an organ donation and honestly, I never gave it much thought.

When my brother died I remember how upset my mom was when she received the call about donating my brothers tissue and organs. We hadn't even had the chance to digest what the police had told us about his accident let alone to think about what, if anything, could be donated from his body. It all felt like such a fog that if you had asked me what the result of that donation phone call was, I would have only been able to tell you that I think we said yes but I didn't know what the conclusion was. My mom wasn't upset about the thought of donation but that the question had to be asked and that a decision had to be made immediately. My brother never registered to be a donor but I am positive that if he had known what his fate was going to be, he would have chosen to save someone's life. What I didn't know six years ago was that in order for an organ to be eligible for transplant, blood and oxygen must flow until the time of recovery. My brother died inside of a car as emergency crews used the jaws of life to get him out. Because of that the majority of his organs were unusable. There are large portions of my life that blurred together at that point and I don't think I ever gave that donation call another thought.

When I went to visit my girlfriend last week, she told me about everything she went through with her surgery and I realized what a miracle the process of donation really is. She would not be here today if her donor (or their family) had not made the decision to become an organ donor. She doesn't know who her donor was or how she died but she is extremely grateful to them for making the choice they did. There are a lot of misconceptions about donation and fears about what the process of recovering the organs looks like. Will they try to save my life first? Will I wake up while they are taking them out!?! Stop watching the Sci-Fi shows and do some research, it's not as bad as you might think. After my visit, I called my mom and asked her what had happened with my brothers organs. Since he had already died the only things that could be donated were his heart valves and his corneas. His heart valves most likely went to help an infant and in some weird way that makes me feel really good. Knowing what I know now, I have registered to become a donor.

If you want to find out more information about becoming an organ or tissue donor or if you want to register in your state, visit www.donatelife.net. There are many types of donations available, including living donations!