by Kayla Cohen ’17

Organ donation is an irrefutable act of kindness. People whose organs do not work properly are in dire need of a donor. On March 22, Terry Murray from the Washington Regional Transplant Community came to talk to students taking Health about organ donation. She explained the process of how they can donate to the cause and sign up to be organ donors.

Murray gave a presentation which consisted of a 20-minute video depicting organ recipients, and the struggle some of them went through before receiving a healthy organ. The factual video highlighted important aspects to consider when becoming a donor, and answered common questions that skeptics may have about the process. She also pointed out how one can donate organs while living. Some of these organs include parts of the liver, kidneys, and skin. Murray ended her presentation with a personal story about her brother and husband. Murray’s mother donated a kidney to her son to give him extra years of life. Murray’s brother had a rare condition that could only be helped by obtaining a functioning kidney.

Additionally, Murray’s husband died in a horrible accident, but she confidently stated that, “something good came out of something tragic.” When her husband died, she donated his organs which “is what he would have wanted,” she said. By donating her husband’s organs when he died, many people’s lives were saved.

Some students in the class had already signed up to be donors, and others were intrigued by the idea. Murray left the students with an overwhelmingly positive outlook on organ donation, and how something beneficial could come out of something tragic.