In this nation, we’re facing a crisis that we have the technology and ability to solve but we’re lacking the participation of our people.
Each year, thousands of people die awaiting an organ transplant. A huge majority of Americans say they’ll donate their organs but only a small fraction actually sign the card authorizing doctors to harvest their organs.
What’s stopping us?
Suzanne Ruff is now one of the nation’s leading experts on organ donation, but it’s not a position she arrived at easily. In fact, even after she agreed to give her kidney to her sister, she had second thoughts right up until the moment she was wheeled into surgery.
She talks about her fears and the conflicting emotions that surround so many people when it comes to organ donation in her new book, “The Reluctant Donor.”
Suzanne’s path to this position comes from her being the lone member of her family not afflicted with polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, one of most common life-threatening diseases.
She explains the disease and describes the responsibility she feels as the only member in two generations of her family to not be afflicted with the disease.
Find out how her passion for raising awareness about both PKD and organ donation has take her to Capitol Hill.
Plus, find out about the insurance loophole that prevents many transplant candidates from receiving a donation due to financial costs and how she’s trying to close it with lawmakers.
Suzanne explains what she wants everyone to know about organ donation and how it impacts all of us.