Turns to Adventure mostly focuses on our journey of living in a van. However, on this week’s blog post I would like to share something that is extremely important to me.

April is National Donate Life month, drawing awareness to organ and tissue donation. My dad was fortunate enough to receive a kidney transplant from his sister at a young age. However, my dad outlived his first transplant and was once again a recipient of a kidney/pancreas transplant from a deceased donor. The decision to donate by these individuals and their families gifted us 31 extra years with my dad before he passed away.

Words will never be enough to express my gratitude and I hope I can honor them by bringing attention to the importance of organ and tissue donation.

I would like to share some statistics from the Donate Life website. Some of the facts are encouraging but others are alarming. By donating organs, one can save up to 8 lives. In 2018, more that 36,500 transplants were provided and 58% of the US population was registered. However, 110,000 individuals are still waiting for a life saving organ transplant and every 10 minutes a person is added to the waiting list. On average 22 people die each day never receiving the organ they desperately needed. Help me honor those who have donated and provide hope to those who are waiting by simply registering to be a donor.

To my aunt, thank you for your selfless gift of giving a piece of yourself to my dad. To the family that donated their daughters organs, thank you for the gift of life in the midst of your deep suffering. Because of you, I was privileged to grow up with my dad.

For more information on organ and tissue donation, visit the website at donatelife.net.