KATHY VOCHOSKA: Save a life -- sign up as an organ and tissue donor
Bakersfield Californian | Kathy Vochoska
In 2011, I donated one of my kidneys to my 22-year-old son. The trial of seeing him in kidney failure and witnessing the impact dialysis was having on his day-to-day life, and then walking through the transplant process as a family, changed my life forever. It was only through my son's illness that I became aware of the huge need for organ and tissue donation. I have always been registered as an organ and tissue donor but I had no idea of the need, or the challenges that people go through on both sides of the equation.
April is Donate Life Awareness Month. As an ambassador for Donate Life and a living donor, I can vouch for the need of those waiting for a lifesaving transplants -- and I salute those who have generously given the gift of life to a person in need. There are 117,000 people nationwide awaiting lifesaving transplants and 21,000 of them live in California. Without a transplant, they will die. Those of us who have been touched by organ donation often say we are members of a very elite club, one that we never wanted to join but one whose membership includes some of the most kind, compassionate and thankful individuals we have ever known. We share a deep connection that makes us a very special family.
Did you know:
* Less than 1 percent of the population will ever be able to donate vital organs. When I heard this statistic, I was like, "What? How can it be that low?" I thought no matter how I died, they would be able to use my organs to help save someone's life. The number is so low because, except in rare cases, only those who have died of brain death can donate vital organs. The fact is, brain death is a rare occurrence. And that leaves so many people on the National Waiting List.
* Less than 22 percent of Kern County residents are registered as organ and tissue donors. When you look at that statistic coupled with the fact that less than 1 percent of the population can ever donate a vital organ, you see the seriousness of such a low registration in our county.
April is Donate Life Awareness Month. As an ambassador for Donate Life and a living donor, I can vouch for the need of those waiting for a lifesaving transplants -- and I salute those who have generously given the gift of life to a person in need. There are 117,000 people nationwide awaiting lifesaving transplants and 21,000 of them live in California. Without a transplant, they will die. Those of us who have been touched by organ donation often say we are members of a very elite club, one that we never wanted to join but one whose membership includes some of the most kind, compassionate and thankful individuals we have ever known. We share a deep connection that makes us a very special family.
Did you know:
* Less than 1 percent of the population will ever be able to donate vital organs. When I heard this statistic, I was like, "What? How can it be that low?" I thought no matter how I died, they would be able to use my organs to help save someone's life. The number is so low because, except in rare cases, only those who have died of brain death can donate vital organs. The fact is, brain death is a rare occurrence. And that leaves so many people on the National Waiting List.
* Less than 22 percent of Kern County residents are registered as organ and tissue donors. When you look at that statistic coupled with the fact that less than 1 percent of the population can ever donate a vital organ, you see the seriousness of such a low registration in our county.
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