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I would like to be remembered for leaving a positive legacy one day.\u00a0 One way in which I can do this is to register as an organ donor and possibly be responsible for Saving 7 Lives and improving the life of up to 50 other people.<\/span><\/p>\n When I say this to friends or people I have met, I often receive a horrified look and I know that they haven\u2019t ever been exposed to, or thought about, how organ donation can impact others and may impact them in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n Being on the transplant list doesn\u2019t mean that you haven\u2019t cared for your body.\u00a0 There are so many different ways in which you can end up needing a transplant.\u00a0 You may have been in an accident for example, you may have type 1 diabetes and your kidneys have become irreparably damaged, you may have an autoimmune disease, a congenital defect, you may get sick with a virus that affects your heart, the list is endless.<\/span><\/p>\n For people on the transplant list this is the last resort because transplantation is not easy.\u00a0 You need to be a strong individual to navigate a path through the extreme care you need to take afterwards, the anti-rejection medication, the side effects of the medication, the regular doctors\u2019 visits and more, to still come out positive on the other side.\u00a0 Amazingly, despite all they have been through I have yet to meet a transplant recipient who is not positive, upbeat and looking to live their lives to the fullest whilst honouring the memory of their donor.<\/span><\/p>\n For me, as someone looking on from the outside, watching someone I love deteriorate steadily and him still be determined to look outward, I am in awe of his mental strength.\u00a0 I value the support of friends and family and I appreciate the opportunity to help to raise awareness about organ donation for everyone on the transplant list.<\/span><\/p>\n Janet Legemaate<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button admin_label=”Button” button_url=”https:\/\/odf.org.za\/hero777″ url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Register as an organ & tissue donor here…” button_alignment=”center” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#e03c33″ button_font=”Lato||||” background_color=”#dd3939″ background_layout=”light” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I would like to be remembered for leaving a positive legacy one day.\u00a0 One way in which I can do this is to register as an organ donor and possibly be responsible for Saving 7 Lives and improving the life of up to 50 other people. When I say this to friends or people I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[7,4,5,6],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-organ-donor-awareness","category-organ-donor-stories","tag-hero","tag-hero777","tag-hero777awareness","tag-organdonor"],"yoast_head":"\n