People fascinate me. We all have unique characteristics and bodies that make us look completely different from one another. Yet, we still yearn to look and be like others. I am intrigued by the careers people have and what inspires them to dedicate their lives to that particular field. No matter if you are the CEO of a company or the janitor, every position matters and helps to make the world go ‘round. I am curious how people get into certain hobbies and how they spend their free time, for instance, riding a unicycle. This is the amazing part of life. We are all unique and beautiful in our own special way. We all have something to offer, to give, and for others to learn from. Each one of us is a very important component of the universe.

I had this revelation while taking part in a recent event. My friend, Lori and I hosted a booth at her company to raise awareness for organ donation. The booth was set up outside the cafeteria where she works, which has 1,000 employees. Our table consisted of baked goods, Donate Life t-shirts, hand-sanitizer, bracelets and other gifts, and two laptops to register new organ donors. Blue and green balloons were the bookends of our table. Lori had several other co-workers helping us. We got the attention of people walking past the booth by asking, “Are you an organ donor?” If their answer was yes, we asked them to show us their pink donor dot on their license. In CA, if you are registered as an organ donor, a pink donor dot is embedded on your license. If they showed us their licence, they were invited to select a cupcake or cookie from our treat section of our table. If they answered no, we asked them if they were interested in signing up to be an organ donor.

In the couple of hours at our booth, 31 individuals made the decision to save lives by signing up to be an organ, eye and/or tissue donor via the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. It was emotional to see someone sitting at each laptop signing up to be an organ donor and others waiting in line to register. The conversations that were sparked and the education provided at the event was inspiring. It was really fun to see all the people whip out their license and proudly show us that they were an organ donor. We all clapped and thanked them. It was fun to share our stories, educate and encourage others to become an organ donor. When people had completed registering as an organ donor, they received a t-shirt and were able to choose from great Donate Life goodies. We rang a loud bell and did a lot of clapping and cheering. It was neat to see how all of our positive energy grabbed the attention of others.

This day reassured me of the importance for us to share our stories and provide education. If others have never been exposed to PKD or organ donation, they are oblivious to the impact this has on so many lives. This is no fault of theirs. People become involved and help provide awareness to things that directly affect them or loved ones in life. It is not often that you find an individual that helps a cause if they have no connection whatsoever to it. This validates how essential it is to share what we have gone through and what we live with. I feel it is my calling to teach the world what PKD is, how badly we need treatments and a cure, and the importance to sign up to be an organ donor. I know we go through so much on a daily basis and may not always have the energy or desire to share our story. However, if we don’t, who will?

Please share something about yourself. It does not have to be about PKD or organ donation. Fascinate me by sharing what makes you the special person that you are.

If you are interested in becoming an organ donor, please visit donatelife.net/register-now/.