“Even before my daughter passed, I always discussed organ donation in my classes,” Kristin said. “But this year, I don’t know if I could have gotten through it by myself.” The engaging, interactive “All of Us” presentation kept her students captivated. Some were fascinated handling organs. They tried on glasses that showed what distorted vision looks like with a damaged cornea. They listened to personal stories and saw photos of organ donors and recipients. “The first time I watched the presentation, it was very emotional for me,” Kristin said. As she looked around her classroom, where her daughter often visited, she saw the message really sink in. “It really helped students understand the compassion and selflessness of organ donation,” she said. “They’re the perfect audience — most would soon be taking driver’s training. They’ll need to decide if they want that little heart on their driver’s license.” After “All of Us,” Alison said, teens are more prepared to decide. Kristin could have said no to the presentation that hit so close to home. “It’s too important,” she said. “Students need the facts to be able to make this decision in an informed way, to recognize the need, to discuss it with their family.
Students hold and touch real human organs as part of an All of Us presentation at their school earlier this year.
“There is no greater gift,” she said. “As quickly as my daughter was gone, there is something beautifully and powerfully redemptive in knowing that in her death, lives are changed because of a gift she chose to give when she was still alive.
“I was proud to have this presentation for our kids,” Kristin said. “It’s a way to help carry Beth’s legacy forward.”
For more information, or to schedule a presentation, visit golm.org/allofus.
“It really helped students understand the compassion and selflessness of organ donation.” — Kristin Rohrbeck, teacher and donor mom
LifeLINES | 2023
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