You heard us. That's right. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the National Minority Donor Awareness Week. If you follow us on social media, you've already seen stories, facts, and figures celebrating minority donation. (If you aren't on social media follows us!)
Our feature story this week includes a brother/sister duo Dawna and Stephon. We'll let Dawna tell your more in her own words.
I never really considered organ donation until the need hit my immediate family. Organ donation seemed taboo to me, and I feel like it is to a lot of minorities. I always stated that what God gave me was going with me when I died, but in 2015 once we found out my youngest & only brother needed a kidney transplant, my big sister mode kicked in and I realized we can't take anything God gave us with us when we die anyway.
I am the oldest of 5 and we all agreed to get tested. I was the healthiest and the better match. I gave my brother a kidney on April 14, 2015. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
He had a new baby in December of 2015, he finished graduate school, he continues to be and AWESOME brother, husband, father, son, and educator. I have lost loved ones to kidney disease, watched loved ones go through dialysis and the thoughts that if someone would have stepped in and donated a kidney their lives could have been sparred or improved.
This is why I am an advocate of organ donation because I know first hand the benefits of it. The fact that a part of you lives on or in another person whether you are a living donor or your organs are donated after you leave this life is a miracle and a blessing.
HOW COULD YOU NOT ADVOCATE FOR THAT?
Some folks call me a hero and I am not that. i just chose to follow the purpose God had already destined for me and if sharing my story saves at least one life, or changes the mindset that organ donation is not taboo and opens up the doors to educate, then that makes my experience that much better.
-Dawna