The beautiful gift of life

By Dr. Joann Schaefer
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

April is a very exciting month for me. In a sense, I just turned three years old!

Three years ago, I was given the gift of life. I received a liver transplant from a living donor. The transformation in my life has been miraculous! I haven't felt this good in over a decade.

I can't tell you what this gift meant to me. My donor made a great sacrifice and gave half of his liver to me. This is called a living donation.

Dr. Gary Gorby was my lifesaver. He's a friend, neighbor and colleague who out of the goodness of his heart helped someone in need. I'm humbled by his generosity, and I can't thank him enough.

There are 458 people in Nebraska waiting for a transplant. They may not qualify for a live donation or they may not have a match. If you're on the waiting list, it's tortuous not knowing if you will die before an organ becomes available.

Organ donations are truly the gift of life. They give people who are sick and suffering their health and their lives back. Organ donation also can turn a single tragedy into a multiple life-saving gift that can impact many lives for the better.

Medicine has advanced so much that organ donation is a widely accepted treatment.

Nebraska is lucky to have an internationally-known transplant center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, with some of the finest doctors I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

I encourage you to designate yourself as a willing donor on your driver's license in case something happens to you. Or, consider becoming a living donor, like my donor. You can donate livers and kidneys to one of the many people on the waiting list.

Together, we can fill the Nebraska Donor Registry with more names of people who are willing to step up, make their wishes known and give the beautiful gift of life.

Dr. Schaefer is Nebraska's Chief Medical Officer and director of public health.