Organ Donation: A Yearly Message From PortableApps.com Founder John T. Haller

As last weekend was my "kidneyversary", I wanted to again make a shameless blog post to remind everyone of the importance of being an organ donor. As some long-time PortableApps.com users know, I donated a kidney to my father 25 years ago. It gave him 23 extra years with us. Over the years, I've also coached a few people though the process. If anyone is in a position where you're thinking of donating to a friend or loved one, I'm more than happy to share my experience and advice.

More importantly, there's something you can do today that won't require much on your part: signing up for the organ donor program in your state or country. In the US alone, over 100,000 people are waiting for an organ. Many will die without one. The best part is that becoming a donor is relatively easy (become a donor in the US). If you're not in the US, there's likely a similar organization in your country. Once registered, if something happens to you, you can leave a legacy behind by saving the lives of others. In some countries, being an organ donor is the default unless you opt-out. So, be sure to check what your country's policies are and that you're registered.

If you'd like to do something a bit more, you can also sign up to donate bone marrow through NMDP (formerly Be The Match). Bone marrow donation can help and even cure life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. You make an optional (but encouraged) donation, swab your cheek, and then wait to see if you match someone who needs a bone marrow transplant. If they do, there's a process to donation that's explained on the site. It's a bit more involved than donating blood, but since you'll be responsible for directly saving someone's life, it's worth it. I have a friend who's donated. I've been on the list for years but haven't been matched yet.

Lastly, and something you can do right now, is signing up to give blood, plasma, or platelets. Your local blood bank or hospital will have the details on it. It's doesn't take too long, doesn't hurt much, and your single pint of blood can be used to help save up to three lives. Plus, free snacks!

That's it for this quick blog post. I apologize for going off the topic of portable apps again, but I wanted to share something that was important to me. And, who knows, together, we could help save the life of someone who goes on to develop cool new software for us all to enjoy. There, now it's related!

Hope you're all staying safe and healthy!

Best,
John