MEDIA ALERT | NEW DAY PROCLAMATION | NATIONAL LIVING DONOR DAY | April 11
On November 25, 2019, Dave Galbenski underwent a successful living donor liver transplant at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Thanks to the courage, compassion, and generosity of his brother-in-law, Mark Dybis, who stepped forward to become his living liver donor. From that moment, Dave made a commitment to use his time, talents, and energy to promote living donor awareness to pay this tremendous gift of life forward.
In 2020, Dave and Mark began to publicly tell their story to raise awareness of the impact of living organ donation. By providing key information and resources about living organ donation, Dave and Mark are inspiring others to potentially consider becoming a living donor.
In 2023, the Living Liver Foundation and National Day Calendar formed a working collaboration to celebrate National Living Donor Day on April 11 each year.
Today, National Living Donor Day celebrates and honors the brave people who step up and save lives by donating their living organs and tissue to heal those in need.
Dave and Lynn Galbenski, founders of the Living Liver Foundation, are asking for our help to spread the word and encourage living donor transplants. We share their goal to save the lives of up to 17 people per day that might otherwise die while on the transplant list.
Who Can Be A Living Donor?
Anyone can sign up to be a donor. Medical tests can help determine which recipient would benefit from your donation. Oftentimes, people misunderstand who qualifies to become an organ donor. An organ donor can be:
- Anyone between the ages of 18 – 60 years of age at most transplant centers.
- A parent, sibling or adult child.
- Other relatives, such as an uncle, aunt, or cousin.
- A biologically unrelated person who knows the recipient, such as a friend, co-worker, significant other, or spouse of a friend.
- Anyone who knows the recipient’s need for the organ.
- A good Samaritan living donor simply decides to donate because they are a match to a stranger who is in need of an organ.
“If National Living Donor Day only saves a single life, it still will be worth it as it will give that individual a second chance at life and allow them to make special memories with friends and families that would not have otherwise been possible.” ~ Dave Galbenski, Founder, Living Liver Foundation
Doug at National Day Calendar, I had the opportunity to visit on the phone with Dave just a few weeks back, his story is inspirational on many levels and I encourage anyone reading this right now to come and discover more about this phenomenal new National Day. Read more…