Today is #GivingTuesday which is an effort geared towards inspiring social generosity. Riding the coattails of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday it’s a way to spend money in a way that benefits the greater good, not just necessarily to acquire an item, service or experience. There are countless opportunities to donate time and money towards any number of exemplary organizations and there are obviously far too many to name here.
A few organizations in the realm of liver concerns are linked throughout this website and I encourage you to learn about them and consider making a donation of money or time to help their causes if at all possible.
Give a Life
That said, it’s difficult to think of a more rewarding donation to make, or think about making, than that of physically giving another person a part of one’s self to save that person’s life. A living liver donation is not a small undertaking. It’s a major surgery with a modest recovery time and a large scar to show for it. It’s for all of these reasons why it is so rewarding. The scar is a badge of honor. The pain during the healing and recovery time is a tangible reminder of what was donated, and the sometimes shared experience of recovering with the recipient forms a life-long bond. It’s a donation with lots of repercussions, a minuscule risk of death, and permanent bodily disfigurement in the form of scarring.
But the impact is a saved life. If you’d like to learn more about living liver donation, I encourage you to read a first-hand account on our blog, or find a hospital that performs living liver donations.