Since today is the first day of April, I performed a search on Google looking for health awareness topics.
Turns out, April is National Donate Life Month.
According to donatelife.net, NDLM features activities designed to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.
The website states that more than 124,000 men, women and children are awaiting organ transplants in the United States.
In my life, I never thought I would have to say that my dad is one of those waiting. He is waiting for a kidney, has been for about three years. However, I’m grateful for the dialysis center in Diamondhead that provide him with the necessary treatments.
When I was a teenager, an 8-year-old member of our church was killed in a car accident. Her parents decided to donate her organs and give life to someone else.
That’s when I decided to have that little red heart put on my driver’s license, designating me as an organ donor in the event of my death.
My dad won’t let his children get tested to see if they could be potential donors for his need.
What saddens me is that someone else may have to perish in an accident or by some other way so that my dad can live a life without dialysis.
There are live donations, but I’m not sure how much of an option that is for him.
When I have the time and the guts, I try to research more about organ donation. However, the Internet is a scary environment full of misinformation and angry people.
When he was first diagnosed with kidney failure, I searched the term and found many Facebook groups filled with negativity about their disease. There are also positive groups, who offer a clearer and more realistic view of kidney failure.
Now that I have witnessed it firsthand, it doesn’t scare me as much. If you’re curious about organ donation, visit donatelife.net. It appears to be a great resource. You can also speak to a medically trained professional.