So, what's this all about anyway?

Well, my journey started long after Rene's, who has been living for over eight years with End Stage Renal Disease. My entry into the adventure came during the summer of 2009 while I was sitting in a waiting room, reading The New Yorker. I started reading a story about the website matchingdonors.com. I always knew that the list of people waiting to receive organs far exceeded the number of organs that come available each year, but I never knew how staggering those numbers are. For example, in 2001, over 2,000 people died waiting for a kidney transplant. MatchingDonors is a website that tries to bring people who need donations (kidney, liver, bone marrow, pancreas, intestine, and/or lung) in contact with living donors. Patients make profiles, explaining their stories, needs, and pertinent medical information. Think of it as a social networking site for organ donation. Potential donors may also register and search (and if chosen, "be searched" by patients) for people who need transplants.

I remember the days leading up to getting my driver's license; of course I was extremely psyched to have the chance to roll up to school in the family van, but the other thing I remember capturing my attention was my mom's talk with me about how I would need to choose whether or not I would want to be an organ donor upon my death. The decision was kind of a no-brainer for me. I obviously wouldn't be using my organs any longer, and someone else could. I was really intrigued by the whole idea.

I think I probably always knew one could actually be a living donor, but I guess I never knew I could be. I mean, we all hear stories of a brother giving a kidney to his dad or an aunt to a niece, etc. The popular book and newish movie My Sister's Keeper deals with a child being conceived so that she can be a bone marrow donor for her older, cancer-ridden sister. But I never really thought about the fact that many people who need organ donations may not be able to receive what they need from friends or family members--that they continue waiting on that dreaded, yet hope-filled list. It wasn't until reading about MatchingDonors that I really thought about the fact that strangers could donate.

The intrigue I felt when choosing to become an organ donor at sixteen was back. I didn't check out matchingdonors.com right away, but I couldn't get the thought out of my head. I had conversations with family and friends--telling them about the article and asking if it was something they would ever consider. Finally, one Chicago summer night as I was surfing the net, I decided I would check out the site. And that's how I met Rene.