06/07/2026
"For my husband Brian and me, being organ donors was a no-brainer. The orange stickers were displayed proudly on our driver's licenses.
Brian was ill with a stroke and congestive heart failure during the last year of his life. He was in and out the hospital monthly and retired at the end of 2020 because of his health.
On Monday, August 16, 2021, he was released from the hospital again. At home, he went to get his phone to call his parents to let them know he was home. He fell and never got up.
I tried helping him up, but when I saw his eyes roll to the back of his head, I called 911. We live a block from a fire station, so the EMTs were there in moments. They worked on Brian for a half-hour, but he never woke up.
My organ procurement organization called about organ donation. They didn't need my permission because of the orange sticker and Brian's signature on his drivers license, but they asked a lot of questions about his health and told me that somewhere around 70 people would benefit from Brian's skin, organs (except his heart), even his eyes, despite cataract surgery on both of them years before.
This news comforted me and is a major reason for organ donation: not only does it help those who receive the organs, but it also helps the grieving knowing that someone is benefitting from their loved one's last gift."
—Lorin K.
