{"id":312,"date":"2026-04-08T14:11:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/?p=312"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:11:19","slug":"the-gift-of-time-why-national-donate-life-month-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/04\/08\/the-gift-of-time-why-national-donate-life-month-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of Time: Why National Donate Life Month Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>April is National Donate Life Month, a time dedicated to celebrating those who have saved lives through donation and encouraging others to consider the incredible impact a single person can have. For those of us rallying behind Evelyn, this month carries a weight that is deeply personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bAs many of you know, Evelyn has been waiting at the Mayo Clinic for over six months for a heart transplant. She cannot come home until she receives a donor heart. Her story is a powerful reminder of the &#8220;gap&#8221; that exists in organ donation- the space between a life-saving miracle and the reality of the wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-reality-of-the-wait\">\u200bThe Reality of the Wait<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bThe statistics are a stark reminder of why we need to talk about donation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<strong>48,000+ transplants <\/strong>were performed in the U.S. last year. These represent 48,000 stories of hope and second chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<strong>13 people<\/strong> still die every single day while waiting for an organ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1 person<\/strong> can save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance 75 more through tissue donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-standing-with-evelyn\">\u200bStanding with Evelyn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bSeeing Evelyn and her family navigate the uncertainty of the transplant list makes the mission of organ donation feel more urgent than ever. We are currently witnessing the strength of a family waiting for that one phone call that will change everything, and it is our goal to make sure they have the support they need when that moment arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"955\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/04\/FB_IMG_1775656971869-e1775657180920-955x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/04\/FB_IMG_1775656971869-e1775657180920-955x1024.jpg 955w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/04\/FB_IMG_1775656971869-e1775657180920-280x300.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/04\/FB_IMG_1775656971869-e1775657180920-768x823.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/04\/FB_IMG_1775656971869-e1775657180920.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 955px) 100vw, 955px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-you-can-help\">\u200bHow You Can Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bWe are so grateful for every way our community has shown up for Evelyn. To date, the community has raised over $118,000 of the next goal of $150,000 for COTA in honor of Evelyn\u2019s Heart. These funds are vital; they ensure that financial barriers- like lodging near Mayo, medications, and transportation- do not stand in the way of her receiving a life-saving heart and recovering safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-here-is-how-you-can-take-action-today\">\u200bHere is how you can take action today:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<strong>Register as a Donor<\/strong>: It takes less than two minutes at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.registerme.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RegisterMe.org<\/a> Your decision could be the miracle another family is praying for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<strong>Support COTA for Evelyn\u2019s Heart<\/strong>: 100% of every dollar donated in Evelyn&#8217;s honor goes directly to her transplant-related expenses. You can give right here on the COTA site: <a href=\"https:\/\/wl.donorperfect.net\/weblink\/weblink.aspx?name=cota&amp;id=27&amp;dpgid=COTAforEvelynsHeart&amp;dpgsol=PTOL&amp;dpg_frname=Evelyn+Otto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Link to Donation Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<strong>Dine to Donate<\/strong>: Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.community-fundraiser.com\/virtual-fundraiser\/events\/promotions\/0f7f4651-50c7-639b-fa1d-3be8c267f537\/en\/landing\">Panda Express<\/a> on Friday April 10th anywhere in the country, use our fundraiser code in the app, <strong>9013507<\/strong>, and 28% of sales will go to COTA in honor of Evelyn\u2019s Heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bThe gap between waiting in a hospital and finally going home closes one registration at a time. Thank you for being part of Evelyn&#8217;s village and for considering the gift of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>April is National Donate Life Month, a time dedicated to celebrating those who have saved lives through donation and encouraging others to consider the incredible impact a single person can have. For those of us rallying behind Evelyn, this month carries a weight that is deeply personal. \u200bAs many of you know, Evelyn has been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2374,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Gift of Time: Why National Donate Life Month Matters - COTA for Evelyn&#039;s Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/04\/08\/the-gift-of-time-why-national-donate-life-month-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Gift of Time: Why National Donate Life Month Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"April is National Donate Life Month, a time dedicated to celebrating those who have saved lives through donation and encouraging others to consider the incredible impact a single person can have. 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