Lorissa Roepke

I have always known I wanted to be an organ donor due to my aunt receiving two kidney transplants. I never would have guessed that at the age of 18, I would be diagnosed with heart failure and require a heart transplant if I wanted to continue living.

My life has never been the same since. Although every day is not easy, I am forever thankful for my donor.

Without my donor making the decision to share the organs they no longer needed, I would not be here today.

I have had the opportunity of accomplishing things I no longer thought were possible for me.

I have graduated from college, become a registered nurse, an aunt, a dog mom, traveled, and met new, wonderful people that I never would have crossed paths with if it weren’t for organ donation.

At a young age, I realized how precious life is. Not everyone has the pleasure of growing old. Every additional day I get to spend on Earth is a miracle that was directly made possible from the decision a single stranger made to be an organ donor in the case they no longer needed their organs.