Teen Ink

Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? If you have the word “donor” on your driver’s license or permit, you may just get to be one. Knowing you can save lives by simply checking a box on a piece of paper is a great feeling. The day I went to the Public Safety Building in my small town, I knew I was making a life-changing decision.

In November 2008, I applied for my driving permit. A lady started to explain what being a donor meant, and I immediately checked the box. I clearly understood that being a donor is about saving lives when your life can’t be saved. I have experienced tragedies, and some of those people who died could have been saved by an organ, blood, bone marrow, or other transplant procedures. Saving a life is a personal goal of mine. When I can’t live any longer, I want to help as many people as possible. Will you save someone’s life one day?

Transplant: this word may sound scary, but you can choose to think of it as saving a life. Organs such as the liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, lungs, and small intestines are transplanted every day. The most important issue in transplants is matching the donor and recipient. Blood type and organ size are the two biggest factors in a transplant, along with the health of both people, according to the website Transplant Living.

When you hear the word donation, what do you think of? Most people picture money, food, or blood. Donating blood can save lives. But just one organ or tissue donor can save the lives of more than 100. ­Tissue donations include bone marrow, tendons, corneas, veins, heart valves, and skin.

Making a blood donation is most common, and when I turn 16, I am going to donate blood. I also plan to donate marrow in case someone close to me or any patient needs it. Please help save a life too.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to make a difference. When I was three, I was run over by a car. The tires went over my head. My parents were terrified, not knowing how things were going to play out. After my accident, my father became a superhero by training to be an EMT. He is also a donor, but as an EMT, he has saved many lives. He is now a nurse in a local emergency room.

Organ, tissue, and other transplants save up to 500,000 people each year. My cousin ­Nikki had leukemia and stomach cancer, and she went though many procedures and transplants before she died at 16. Without those donations and transplants she would not have lived for the five years after her diagnosis – four years more than she had been given by the doctors. Nikki was ­given hope by donations from strangers.

Don’t just sit back and relax – make a difference. Become a donor, be a superhero, save lives.