National Donor Day - February 14th

Hello everyone! I’m Kristin, the Transplant Relations Coordinator for Mayo Clinic. I would like to introduce myself to you as a contributor to this blog and manager of the transplant Facebook pages. I’ve worked with the Transplant Center for nearly 18 years in many roles. In every job I’ve had with the transplant programs, I’ve been able to talk with donor families, living donors, and transplant recipients. My career has been more rewarding than I could have ever hoped, and I am looking forward to providing you with transplant information for years to come!

Organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ to another person who has been diagnosed with organ failure. Both deceased and living organ donation begins with a person who recognizes an opportunity to save someone’s life. February 14th is National Donor Day, an observance day originally designated in 1998 to raise awareness for organ, eye, tissue, marrow, platelet and blood donation. In the United States, people aren’t required to be donors. They give of themselves because they have a strong desire to help others.

How can we show our appreciation for the donors who have saved and enhanced lives over the years? Recipients of organs, tissue, blood and bone marrow often say they can never properly thank their donors for the gift of life. Some say the best way they can repay their donor is to live life to the fullest and take great care of the gift they were given. For donor families, often the opportunity to meet their loved one’s recipient and watch them live a full and happy life is the thanks they need to heal and move on in their time of grief.

Mayo Clinic shows gratitude to donors by making safety and quality of care for transplant recipients and donors our highest priority, and by being the best stewards of the gift that was given.

As we move into Valentines’ Day, a day to show appreciation and love for our family and friends, please join me in thanking the thousands of donors, both deceased and living, who out of generosity and courage, have given the ultimate gift.
My recipient cried every time he saw me for the first year post-transplant. Knowing he was going to be ok was all the thanks I needed." – a living kidney donor
If you are signed up to be a deceased organ donor or you have been a living organ donor, what can you say to teach others about donation? How about this:Just one donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and save or heal more than 75 lives through eye and tissue donation. You can learn more about the need for donation and about how individuals can take action by visiting https://www.donatelife.net/.

• Read Transplant Donor and Recipient Stories at Sharing Mayo Clinic.
• Explore Mayo’s Transplant Center.
• Request an appointment.