The summer going into my senior year, a family member of mine got sick. Not just tummy-ache sick, but sick enough to be in the hospital for days. This was something I wasn’t used to – no one in my immediate family had been hospitalized like that before, and I wasn’t ready for the emotional hardships it would put me through.

However, what was even harder to hear – news that came later into the process of determining what was wrong – was that my family member was in need of a new organ.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t too knowledgeable about organ donation. I remember taking Driver’s Education in high school and my teacher telling me that when we turn 18, we can be organ donors. But that was basically all that I knew.

I believe that some people my age are unaware of the importance of being an organ donor, and are too hung up on the false information they hear.

Here are seven quick facts.

1. Organs and tissues that can be donated include: heart, kidneys, lungs pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone and heart valves. How amazing is that?

2. Organ donation is consistent with the beliefs of most major religions.

3. An open-casket funeral is possible for organ and tissue donors.

4. There is no cost to the donor’s family or estate for organ and tissue donation.

5. If you are sick or injured, and admitted to the hospital, the first priority is to save your life. Donating your organs can only be considered after a physician has declared brain death.

6. Living donation increases the existing organ supply.

7. Donors are needed for all races and ethnic groups. Transplant success rates increase when organs are matched between members of the same ethnic background.

Organ donation is beautiful. To be able to save someone else’s life is a chance not many of us can receive. And with organ donation, it’s possible that you can save multiple lives. I’d hope that you’d consider being an organ donor. People are in need, and the best candidates are young adults. (You can be a live donor too!)

To be an organ donor, you check off a small little box when receiving your basic driving license. Just one little check, and you can make a huge difference.