Lella Young, liver recipient, face of Donate Life Colorado campaign for Western Slope DMVs

DELTA, Colo. (CO) – March 5, 2024 – Lella Young, a liver recipient from Delta, Colo., is the face that inspires people to say Yes to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor when they obtain their driver license or state ID. She is featured on Donate Life Colorado posters and brochures at Colorado Division of Motor Vehicle (DMV) offices across the Western Slope to connect customers to the mission of saving and healing lives. Last week, it came full circle for Lella at the Delta Driver License Office. She got her driver license and for the first time, she was able to say “yes” to the simple question that ultimately gave her the gift of life.

“We are so thankful for our donor family’s gift to Lella,” said Lyndall Young, Lella’s mother. “Our goal as a family is to help someone else, if possible. To see Lella make that choice to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor filled our hearts with overwhelming pride and hope.”

When she was 2 months old, Lella was diagnosed with a rare condition that affected her liver and was placed on the transplant waiting list. At 7 months old, she received her lifesaving and healing gift – a liver – from a heroic organ donor in Iowa. Now at the age of 16, Lella’s donor has given her a chance to find her passion for dance, go to her high school state swimming championships, and spend time with her friends and family. You can watch Lella’s story of hope on Donor Alliance’s YouTube page.

Lella is not alone – nearly 1,300 people in our community continue to wait for a lifesaving organ transplant. Last year, the generosity of 307 heroic donors across Colorado and Wyoming resulted in 918 organ transplants. Also last year, 1,703 tissue donors provided lifesaving and healing tissues, which resulted in more than 100,000 tissue grafts to those in need. Each year, tissue transplants provide hope to tens of thousands of people suffering from injury, disease, or trauma.

One person can save up to eight lives through organ donation and save and heal up to 75 lives through tissue donation. People can register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor the next time they obtain or renew their driver license/state ID or anytime at DonateLifeColorado.org.

About Donor Alliance

Donor Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation for transplantation in Colorado and most of Wyoming. As a federally designated organ procurement organization – one of 56 in the U.S. – Donor Alliance serves more than 6.3 million residents and more than 100 hospitals. Donor Alliance walks alongside the family during the organ recovery process and ensures their loved one’s gifts are safely received at transplant centers in a timely manner. Donor Alliance also facilitates tissue donation to save and heal more lives across our community. In addition, the organization maintains partnerships with hospitals and manages the donor registries in the region, Donate Life Colorado and Donate Life Wyoming, which are symbols of the cause. Through Donate Life, Donor Alliance educates residents on the lifesaving benefits of donation, inspiring them to register. For more information, please visit DonorAlliance.org.