Our family received the best Christmas gift you could get. My mother-in-law has been on dialysis for nearly 7 years. Two days before Christmas, she received a call that they were going to have a donated kidney ready for a transplant. She received the kidney without any major complications and all is going well. Hopefully she will be able to live a much more normal life thanks to this gift.

We found out that the kidney came from a 14 year old girl who died in a car wreck a few miles from our home. Obviously, the new kidney is bittersweet because we know that someone lost their life in order to give this kidney to our family member. It's terrible to know that a great moment for your family leaves another family in grief.

Remember to always make your wishes concerning organ donation known to your other family members. You can't take those organs with you after you die, but you may be able to save a life in the process.

This is such a complete no-brainer to me.

I've always wanted to be/do something absolutely epic for somebody else. I have always wanted to be a "hero" to somebody in some way. From the time they first ask you when you get a driver's license to be an organ donor, to me, it was such an easy simple decision. For many people it may seem a generous thing to do, for me, it is actually the opposite. I love that if I die, there will hopefully be people out there that I am helping through that act. Not only giving the event meaning beyond my own, but impacting a person, their family, their every action in their life after that because of what I gave them. I LOVE that! I love that I get to have that potential to effect so many lives in such a positive way. The kicker?... it is all through something that will take absolutely no effort on my part at all.

This is such a complete no-brainer to me.

The kicker?... it is all through something that will take absolutely no effort on my part at all.

Honestly, there's really no reason why there should be an organ shortage at the level it currently stands. It's amazing how many people that die early don't fill out the card and often fail to have their organs donated for that very reason. Especially in a car crash, time is of the essense. Even if family members are finally contacted in regards to donation, an hour or two could mean the difference between a donation and a organ that is unsuitable for donation. I don't really care how many people respond to this thread. If I can get one person in this forum to read this and fill out their donor information, it's well-worth the time taken to start the thread. It's a wonderful gift.

In fairness, I think there are perfectly valid reasons to not donate your organs.

That being said, I switched from a "U" to a "Y" the last time I renewed my drivers license. I will be very happy to know that I was able to help someone.

And congrats on your Mother-in-Law MBBF!

In fairness, I think there are perfectly valid reasons to not donate your organs.

There are reasons, that's for sure. I am not sure about their validity, but that's another matter.

I really think the default in this country (as it is in many European countries) should be that everyone's a donor. If you don't want to be a donnor (or don't want your kids to be donors), that's perfectly acceptable, but it should take a proactive step on your part to not be a donor, as opposed to the other way around as it is today.

Congrats, Mizzou!

I'm with HB, great news Mizzou!!!

It's just a checkbox on my license renewal form. It's not even really a decision to me. Check it off, move on.

Just out of curiosity, is there any way you can sign up to donate organs, but have them be preserved somewhere in the event a family member may need one down the road? Would that be separate from the "traditional" organ donation program?

Just out of curiosity, is there any way you can sign up to donate organs, but have them be preserved somewhere in the event a family member may need one down the road? Would that be separate from the "traditional" organ donation program?

I don't know the answer to this, but I'm pretty confident that a large majority of Organs could not be preserved for any extended period of time.

Yeah I figured that was true.