People in Fundraising, ep. 106: Roger Allred, organ donation advocate

Roger Allred, who is the father and father-in-law of my friends Alicia and Scott Buchanan, joins "People in Fundraising" to talk about the literal life-saving importance of being an organ donor. This interview is another in a series where my guests talk about the impact of nonprofit work from the donor/recipient perspective.

A father of nine children, Roger sketches a 25-year history of heart issues that ultimately led him to need a heart transplant after having heart disease for 13 of those years. He movingly shares some incredible experiences as an organ donor recipient, including one involving connecting with the mother of the person whose heart was transplanted into Roger.

Since becoming a transplant recipient, Roger has devoted significant time to raising awareness of the need for organ, cornea, and tissue donors. He talks about his educational advocacy efforts and volunteering with DonorConnect. "The wider we cast the net, the more people are in the system, when a need comes, then we have more people who have the potentiality of being a donor."

Thank you Roger for being a great ambassador for organ, eye, and tissue donation! It was very meaningful to connect with you on your experience and to help raise awareness for as wide a net as possible of organ donors.