Please Consider Being an Organ Donor

This past weekend, we were invited to attend a Nevada Donor Network’s Donor Remembrance Event to thank the families and friends of recent organ donors. Randy and I decided to make the trip to Las Vegas and to attend the event with our son, Justin, and our grandsons, Jace and Jayden. We wanted to honor the memory of our second son, Jarand and his unselfishness in becoming an organ donor. Nevada Donor Network was able to harvest his corneas to give sight to two people and thus improved their quality of life.

The convention room was filled with people, young and old. It was somber but also uplifting to know that somehow, all of us were connected by our loved one’s decision to become an organ donor. As I read through the book and viewed the slide show, I was overwhelmed by the stories of how each person made a difference, most of them to strangers, by their simple act of checking the box on their driver’s license. In fact, that’s why Nevada Donor Network contacted us - because Jarand checked that box.

The keynote presenter was Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., and Rear Admiral, USPHS (Retired). That convention room was silent as he shared grim data about organ donation and transplantation: 113,000+ names in the United States for those needing an organ donation; 18 people on that list passing away each hour, never having had their opportunity to receive a transplant. He asked us to visualize the new Las Vegas Raiders Stadium that is presently being built and which will hold 65,000 fans. I pictured that in my mind and could only shake my head. Then Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu shared that his wife, Donna Moritsugu had passed away in an automobile accident 27 years ago, and different organs were transplanted into people, thereby giving them a new opportunity at life. Four years after that, his 21-year-old daughter, Vikki Lynn Moritsugu was hit by an automobile and her organs were also donated so others could have an improved quality of life. The Moritsugu family took two tragic events and turned them into opportunities to make a positive difference for others.

One day, medicine and technology will merge and make it possible for organ donation and transplantation to be unnecessary. Until then, society will rely on ordinary people like Jarand to be organ donors.

I was filled with an array of emotions on Saturday. I was proud of our son for being an organ donor; it validates what a selfless person he was. I was also filled with an overwhelming sense of loss, not just for Jarand, but for all the donors and their families. I also felt gratitude for those who benefited and now have an opportunity to live a better life. At the event, there were donor recipients who shared their stories and showed their medals about the Transplant Games, an Olympics-style event for those who received transplants and are now living active lives. They were inspirational.

If you are not presently an organ donor, I hope you will consider becoming one. It’s so easy to just check the box on your driver’s license. If you would like more information about organ donation in Hawaii, check out the link for Legacy of Life.

I want to thank Nevada Donor Network for inviting us to share in this very special event.

 We received a book that shared about the donors. This is Jarand’s page.

There was a slide show with photos of the donors as well as displays about some of the donors.

Each donor’s family received a small jar of colored sand which we added to the larger container. Now we are all connected to the other donors and their families and friends.

The Red Rock Casino Convention Center Ballroom was filled with people. 

Each donor received this very special medal. Jarand, we are proud of you.