An Idea Has Sprung

A couple weeks ago I attended Relay For Life to support those battling cancer, those who have survived it, and to honor those who have lost their lives to this disease. It's an overnight fundraising event which takes place around the globe. 

Not that cancer is not a worthy cause, I support it 100%, but living with heart disease my whole life, and meeting others kids with CHD, earns more of my respect. Personally, I would rather be apart of the American Heart Association community than the American Cancer Society. Let's not forget that CHD does not have a cure either. After all, heart disease is the leading cause of deaths in both men and women. In 2010, Coronary Artery Disease(the most common kind of heart disease) alone projected to cost the United States $108.9 Billion. This total includes the cost of health care, medications, and lost productivity. 

After experiencing Relay for Life once again I began thinking; what if there was a fundraiser out there, that was just as world-wide as Relay for Life? But not for Heart Disease... after being a heart transplant recipient my whole life, my focus is on Organ Donation. I believe people are more clueless about the importance and impact of Organ Donation.

 Just to state the facts...

Each day an average of 70 people receive transplants, however, about 18 people will die each day waiting for an organ that can't take place due to the shortage of donors. 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives, and there are about 100 million donors in the U.S today, but let's not forget about the 2.5 million lost lives in 2007. 

The purpose of this Organ Donation fundraiser would be to celebrate those living life who have also endured transplant(whether it was an eye, liver, or HEART transplant), raise money for a cure of rejection, and of course, give people the opportunity to give the gift of life by becoming an organ donor. Because the reality is, the number of candidates waiting continues to decrease the number of organ donors available, and only you can change this! 

Like Relay for Life, this Organ Donation fundraiser would reach out to a teenage audience, like myself. The younger you learn, the wiser you become.  

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Centers of Disease Control and Prevention