Turning 16 is one of the best birthdays you’ll ever have.

You take a simple test and you are given what is, in reality, a flimsy little card, but it stands for so much more. It stands for freedom.

 At the DMV, all you want is to walk away with that card in your hand. You wait for hours in line and answer the questions as fast as you can, probably not even thinking twice when you check “yes” or “no” to becoming a donor. Honestly, I said yes because it meant I would have a cute little red heart on my ID—sure, I like hearts so why not?

Sixteen-year-old me did not realize what having that heart on my ID meant. What it really means is that if something bad were to happen to me, I could save lives. Yes, I said lives, plural.

I consider myself lucky that I haven’t had the opportunity to donate anything, but I have seen the positive effects of what donating can do. My brother, ten years older than me, decided when he was 16 to become a donor. Seven years later when he passed away, my family found peace in the fact that the loss of his life could prevent the loss of another. He was able to give people a variety of necessary organs. We know for a fact that, because of his death and donations, two people were given the gift of sight and multiple individuals received veins either for their hearts or legs, wherever most needed. Choosing to be a donor is a decision that one rarely thinks about. By the time you actually have the chance to consider donating, you could already be gone. That is, of course, unless you are the one who needs a new heart or has failing kidneys.  

The receiving side is difficult because you are completely helpless. Whether or not you are a donor, there is nothing you can do to save your life if your own organs have failed you.

I did not understand the severity of waiting for donations until recently when I learned that my father was waiting for a kidney. It is a terrible position because wishing too hard for an organ is wishing pain or death upon another person, but wishing too hard is something we do for those we love.

We easily forget that little heart on our ID is the difference between a life lost and a life saved. Honestly, your worst-case scenario can be someone’s best-case scenario. Choosing to become a donor is an enormous sacrifice, but it is important to remember that one simple decision can become the gift of life for someone.