Donation Essentials Blog

Last Christmas: A Review Through a Donate Life Lens

“Very emotional for me, but I feel like it’s a movie worth seeing as a donor family member,” said Laurie. Laurie is a donor’s wife and an Advocate for Life from Casper, Wyoming who helped us review the 2019 romantic holiday comedy, Last Christmas, through a Donate Life lens. While Laurie’s connection to donation and […]


Presumed Consent or Opt-Out: What does it mean?

December 10, 2020 | How Donation Works

You may have been hearing the term “presumed consent” or “opt-out” lately when it comes to organ and tissue donation around the world. The UK is the most recent country to adopt legislation that supports this. The United States operates under an opt-in, first-person consent system. This means individuals must personally, actively sign up on […]


Advocate Spotlight: Jeremy Mares

Donor Alliance volunteers and advocates are the heart and soul of our efforts to inspire and inform our community about the importance of signing up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor in Colorado and Wyoming. Each of our volunteers and advocates has their own unique and inspiring story to tell. In this advocate […]


Staff Spotlight: Lauren Abernathy

We’re so proud to work with each and every one of our staff members here at Donor Alliance. In our Staff Spotlight, we like to take a minute to share who we are and why we work at Donor Alliance. In this month’s staff spotlight, meet Lauren Abernathy, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) […]


Quick Organ and Tissue Transplant History

With the advances of science over recent years, it may be surprising to learn that the first successful organ transplant was in 1954. The first skin transplant was performed in 1869. That’s right! Organ and tissue donation and transplantation have been going on for over 150 years in the USA. Much has changed over the […]


Ryan Harris, Super Bowl 50 Champion, Shares the Profound Impact Organ Donation has Had on His Family

Ryan Harris, Super Bowl 50 Champion, shared how organ donation has impacted his family and encouraged the community to consider signing up to be organ donors after death. My Father’s Life was Saved by Organ Donation My father has been a lifelong inspiration, supporting my dreams of being a professional athlete and Super Bowl champion […]


National DMV Appreciation Month: Celebrating Partners Making a Difference

September was National DMV Appreciation Month. Earlier this year, many driver license offices across the country were closed for COVID-19 safety reasons. To allow more time to recognize and support our DMV partners, Donate life America extended National DMV Appreciation Week to the entire month of September. We spent the month celebrating our Department of […]


Preventing Organ and Tissue Rejection

October 5, 2020 | How Transplantation Works

One of the last things a patient or their family wants to worry about after they’ve received an organ or tissue transplant is whether the transplant will be rejected. But it’s important to recognize that rejection is not the same thing as losing your transplanted organ or tissue, and organ survival rates continue to improve. […]


Staff Spotlight: Colin Larkin

September 30, 2020 | Donor Alliance in the Community

We’re so proud to work with each and every one of our staff members here at Donor Alliance. In our Staff Spotlight, we like to take a minute to share who we are and why we work at Donor Alliance. In this month’s staff spotlight, meet Colin Larkin, a Regional Donation Consultant based in Grand […]


Advocate Spotlight: Kristen Atkinson

September 29, 2020 | Donor Alliance in the Community

Donor Alliance volunteers and advocates are the heart and soul of our efforts to inspire and inform our community about the importance of signing up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor in Colorado and Wyoming. Each of our volunteers and advocates has their own unique and inspiring story to tell. In this advocate […]


Book Discussion: “The Organ Thieves” – Lessons Learned, Shaping the Future Actions within Donation & Transplantation

With the recent publication of the book The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South, we must acknowledge the past transgressions within the healthcare system and donation and transplantation field in the United States. The Organ Thieves is about Bruce Tucker, a Black man who suffered a head […]


Is Coronavirus a Rule-out for Organ Transplants?

August 19, 2020 | How Donation Works

When it comes to rule outs for organ transplants, it’s important to get the facts, especially when discussing coronavirus and other diseases. Active coronavirus continues to be a rule out for both organ and tissue donors as well as recipients. However, once recovered, donation and transplantation are both possible, as is the case with many […]