I'm an organ donor, Are you?

This past weekend, after a four year wait, my 21 year old cousin was the recipient of a new kidney. It was such a great relief for him and his family -- after the years of dialysis and the years of being so sick.

Kyler (my cousin) had previously recieved a kidney from his mother when he was about 1 year old. That kidney started to fail 4 years ago and he has been waiting for a kidney for a long time.

The reason I am blogging about this, is that the donor of his kidney was a 33 year old woman. We do not know any other details about her life or death, but it is certainly a tragedy when someone this young dies. It especially hit home for me as I am a 33 year old woman. I am grateful to the family of this 33 year old woman who was able to honor her wishes to donate her organs even in a time of such despair. I don't know how many other families were blessed to be recipients, but I am sure many, many families have been given the gift of life for one of their loved ones.

I am sure there are many of you who if you were to befall some tragedy would be willing to be an organ donor but you just have never made it official on your driver's license or notified your family of your wishes. I am hoping that you will change that. Unfortunately, none of us know the timing of our life.

Be aware that even if your driver's license indicates you are a donor, most hospitals will honor the wishes of the family even if it is not what the individual would have wanted. So have the discussion with your loved ones today and let them know what you want to have happen should something go terribly wrong.