Mission and Goals
The mission of Living Donors Online! is to improve the
living donation experience.
We seek to be the preeminent online community for living donors,
potential donors, their families, and medical professionals. "Living donors"
are living individuals who have given a kidney, liver, lung, bone marrow, or
other organ or tissue for transplantation to another person—often a
relative—in need.
The goals of this site are three-fold:
-
To educate — by collecting and posting
information related to living donation.
-
To support — by creating a sense of community,
sharing experiences, and helping address the needs of individuals going through
or having completed donation.
-
To advocate — by sharing information on the
interests, concerns, and needs of living donors with the medical community and
other influential parties.
The Origins of Living Donors Online!
My name is Michael Murphy, and I'm a living kidney donor. This
site grew out of the confluence of several events:
-
My donation of a kidney to my sister in 1991, and the lack
of information and support (other than moral support from my family) at that
time.
-
An experience with a coworker in 2000 who was being
considered for organ donation when, once again, I was frustrated by the lack of
information even in this age of information.
-
Involvement in organ and tissue donation awareness through
my past participation in Lifelink of Georgia and
Georgia Transplant
Foundation.
-
A five-week sabbatical in 2000 that gave me the time to
crystallize my thinking about how to fill the information gap and the time to
devote to implementing this web site.
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank the following people and companies for their
support with the inspiration and realization of Living Donors Online!:
-
Meg Willems, my sister and (for a while) borrower of my
kidney, for her bravery and perseverance in facing juvenile-onset diabetes. And
to her husband, David, who is the strongest person I know.
-
Niki Murphy, for her love, support, and enthusiasm.
-
DC
Scripts for a terrific message board script, and David Choi for his help
with installing it.
-
Cedant,
which has provided cost-effective and reliable web hosting services and
cost-effective domain name registration.
-
The Halaburts, whose personal tragedy reconnected me to
what's really important.
-
All of you living donors and potential donors for being a
part of my universe, and permitting me to make your part a little better.
Thank you!
Michael
|