Sometimes More Like a Whisper than a Shout: Spreading the Word about Organ Donation

“Would you like a fan?” we asked passersby, enthusiastically waving our colorful Donate Life cardboard fans. It was a hot day but the crowds streaming past our table at “Packapalooza,” the annual all-day street festival at NC State University in Raleigh, NC, were in search of better freebies, games, goodies, or just cold lemonade. Not many were eager to talk about organ donation.

I’ve often described my post-kidney- donation desire to spread the word as wanting to “shout it from the rooftops” so everyone would learn how important and gratifying living donation is. Alas, sometimes it feels more like a whisper than a shout.

But…

When we did engage folks in what sounded like a whisper–even though we needed to shout to be heard above the din of loud music and crowds–people were blown away to learn a few basic truths about organ donation. I teased several of them with a quiz:

“What percentage of people who die in this country would you guess can be organ donors– whether they’re registered or not?”

“I don’t know–a lot. Maybe 70%?”

“Umm, I guess about 60%.”

The guesses got a bit closer. “50%?”

The closest to the correct answer came from a young woman who said 20%. She was pleased to hear that hers was the best guess–till she learned the answer.

Less than 1%.

That never fails to get a reaction. Their eyes widened. “Really?!” It made such an impression, in fact, that I’m guessing they’ll remember it and proudly show off their newly learned factoid to someone soon.

From there it was an easy segue to emphasizing how critical it is that everyone be registered as an organ donor. And if I still had their attention, I explained that that still wouldn’t be enough to meet the need and that’s why living donation is so important. That’s when I told them I’d donated my kidney to my son, and their eyes widened again. I suspect many didn’t know you could. I sometimes gave them a bookmark featuring my book, The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation.

Those who chatted with Raven (see our threesome selfie above) were surprised to learn that this radiant, healthy-looking woman had had a liver transplant two years ago. Raven was a seemingly healthy grad student in her thirties when she began to feel ill and later discovered that her liver was failing. She’s paying it forward by volunteering to spread the word about organ donation and by creating a business to help others find a living donor with tee shirts and other donation-related merchandise.

So maybe we’re not shouting from the rooftops, but we’re changing people’s knowledge and perceptions a little at a time and that’s still valuable. The more people learn about organ donation, the more they’ll know that it isn’t a remote subject that only affects “other people.” Knowledge is power, and it can save lives.

For related posts, resources, and information on The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation, be sure to explore the rest of my website.