Yesterday was April Fools Day, it was also the first day of Organ Donor Awareness month. Organ donation is no joke, it's not a laughing matter. When you are one of the over 100,000 people waiting for a new organ, organ donation is a very serious matter. The statistics regarding those waiting for the gift of life and those who actually donate is a national crisis that needs to be taken serious.
At the end of 2007, 28,354 received a new liver, heart, kidney(s), pancreas, lung(s) or intestine. However, only 14,395 people were organ donors. Considering there was a total of over 96,000 people on the National Waiting List at the end of 2007, fourteen thousand donors is just a small drop in the bucket.
Being an organ donor is the most selfless act one can do for another human being. Being an organ donor means that you have the potential to save the lives of 8 people. As an organ donor, you are leaving a lasting legacy of your love for others.
There are so many people depending on you to say yes to organ donation. It goes beyond those 98,000 plus people waiting, it reaches their loved ones; their friends and their families. Saying yes to organ donation won't just save the life of one person, saying yes to organ donation is saying yes to an entire family. Saying yes means you are saying their lives matter and their love for each other matters.
There are so many reasons to become an organ donor, my daughter Ashley is just one reason. During the next 28 days I will give you several more reasons why you should be an organ donor. I will introduce you to donor families, you will see faces of children waiting for a heart, liver, kidney, etc, you will meet people whose lives have changed because of organ donation.
During the month of April, I will not only share with you stories of those affected by organ donation but I will give you statistical information on organ donation. I will address the facts and myths associated with organ donation and I will talk about the controversy surrounding organ donation from the opt-out initiative to LifeSharers. My hope is to save one person's life, to change the minds of the naysayers. I may not be able to save my daughter's life, but maybe I can save the life of someone else. Maybe that life will be yours or someone you know.
At the end of 2007, 28,354 received a new liver, heart, kidney(s), pancreas, lung(s) or intestine. However, only 14,395 people were organ donors. Considering there was a total of over 96,000 people on the National Waiting List at the end of 2007, fourteen thousand donors is just a small drop in the bucket.
Being an organ donor is the most selfless act one can do for another human being. Being an organ donor means that you have the potential to save the lives of 8 people. As an organ donor, you are leaving a lasting legacy of your love for others.
There are so many people depending on you to say yes to organ donation. It goes beyond those 98,000 plus people waiting, it reaches their loved ones; their friends and their families. Saying yes to organ donation won't just save the life of one person, saying yes to organ donation is saying yes to an entire family. Saying yes means you are saying their lives matter and their love for each other matters.
There are so many reasons to become an organ donor, my daughter Ashley is just one reason. During the next 28 days I will give you several more reasons why you should be an organ donor. I will introduce you to donor families, you will see faces of children waiting for a heart, liver, kidney, etc, you will meet people whose lives have changed because of organ donation.
During the month of April, I will not only share with you stories of those affected by organ donation but I will give you statistical information on organ donation. I will address the facts and myths associated with organ donation and I will talk about the controversy surrounding organ donation from the opt-out initiative to LifeSharers. My hope is to save one person's life, to change the minds of the naysayers. I may not be able to save my daughter's life, but maybe I can save the life of someone else. Maybe that life will be yours or someone you know.
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