On Valentine’s Day, we celebrate the act of giving our hearts in love to another person.  It’s also a day to decide whether to take a leap from the metaphorical to the literal. 

I am one of 6.4 million people in Florida who have decided that my body is worth giving up to others in need.  I am an organ donor.

The National Network of Organ Donors (NNOD) estimates that 19 people die each day because of the lack of an appropriate organ transplant. Up to eight people can be saved by the donations from one person and more people’s lives can be improved by transplants.

Whether to be a donor is an important decision to make, so if you have questions about the process or results related to becoming one try the NNOD’s frequently asked questions page. Teens can register to donate as well, but they need their parent’s consent.

I have to admit, one of my questions was whether it would affect the way my body would look at my funeral.  According to NNOD, it does not. 

In the case of death, within seconds the health professionals at the hospital will determine if your organs are suitable for transplant and get the process going if they are. 

Potential parents also have a way to help others that is less well known than organ donation—cord  blood donation.   When your child is born, the cord and placenta can be used to help people with life-threatening diseases like leukemia.  

According to the National Marrow Donor Be the Match program, cord blood does not have to match the patient as closely as bone marrow does so it can be used for people who are hard to match such as minorities. 

To find out if your hospital participates in the cord blood donor program, check the list given here. There may be other options if it does not.

Finally, you can be a blood marrow donor.  Be the Match Registry is the new name for the National Marrow Donor Program. I was surprised to learn that there are two ways to give. One is similar to giving blood and doesn’t involve surgery. The other does involve surgery but no bone is taken, just the liquid inside the bone which your body naturally replaces in four to six weeks. The person donating is reimbursed for any travel costs so there is no cost to donate and the best donors are between 18 and 44 years old, although you can register up to age 60. 

These programs have stories on their websites of real people, adults and children, who are living because someone decided to donate an organ, cord blood or marrow.  When you think of it that way, it doesn’t seem like such a hard decision.  As an organ donor, I know if I couldn’t be saved, I’d like to save someone else—a real, breathing person who has a life that’s going to end if he or she doesn’t get help.

I started today’s blog topic because February 14 is National Organ Donor Day. I almost always learn something when I do my blogs and this time I learned that I am eligible to be a marrow donor even though I have Graves Disease, which can affect your bones, because I’m stable. I’ve decided to sign up and see what happens.  It could be one of the greatest experiences of my life.