Donor Diaries
Donor Diaries is a podcast about the beauty and messiness of living organ donation. Get ready for some amazing stories about what happens when people decide to share their organs with other people, when people chose to share life. The sharing of kidneys and other organs is an incredibly fascinating topic that teaches a lot about kindness, love, and life! There are over 100,000 people on the kidney transplant waitlist today, and sadly about 13 people die each day waiting for a kidney that they never receive. One in three Americans are at risk for developing chronic kidney disease and one in nine already have kidney disease. Most don’t even know it. Donor Diaries shares unfiltered stories of kidney donation through the voices of living donors and straight talk from transplant experts who are committed to bringing the conversation of living organ donation to the forefront of society, so patients no longer have to die or suffer while waiting for a transplant.
Donor Diaries
The Dan & Laurie Episode | EP 6
Episode 6 features Laurie Lee’s family transplant story. Meet Laurie’s dad, Dan Dickinson, who is not only a liver transplant recipient, but Laurie’s partner in a decade’s worth of transplant initiatives. This dynamic duo will interview each other to bring you a touching transplant story that started over 20 years ago when Dan passed out on a plane! Find out how a liver transplant for Dan ultimately lead to a kidney donation for Laurie!
Dan Dickinson is founder and serves as Chairman of Transplant Village, bringing his years of business acumen as well as his personal experience as a liver transplant recipient to the organization. By helping Northwestern’s Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC) raise the money that it needs to continue its research and expand patient care, he has helped create a system of success. As Chairman, Dickinson leads the NMTAC in achieving its goals: raising funds to support the CTC’s initiatives and developing lasting relationships with the group’s donor base to establish a culture of philanthropy within the CTC community.
Tune in to hear Dan and Laurie’s story today. Learn about their organization, Transplant Village, and learn about Laurie’s current efforts to produce a PBS Documentary called CrowdSource for Life.
This episode is lovingly dedicated to Dan’s deceased liver donor, and Laurie’s kidney recipient. Both are strangers, and both play an important role in this family story about giving and receiving.
“Love between strangers takes only a few seconds and can last a whole life.” – Simon Van Booy
Show Links:
The Truth About Organ Donation | AMA 07 (opening clip)
Dan’s Liver Blog
Transplant Village
Transplant Village’s Kidney Champion Program
Organ Donor Registry (to sign up as a deceased donor)
CrowdSource for Life Teaser Trailer
CrowdSource for Life Sponsorship Opportunities