#ShineALight for National Donate Life Month to illuminate the importance of Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

Join us this April 2025 as we #ShineALight for National Donate Life Month!

This April, Coloradans and Wyomingites come together to #ShineALight for National Donate Life Month, honoring donors, celebrating recipients, and recognizing the nearly 1,300 of our neighbors who are currently waiting for lifesaving transplants. This national observance shines a light on the critical need for more registered donors in our community and the lifesaving and healing impact of donation.

#ShineALight was inspired by one of Donor Alliance’s Advocate for Life volunteers, Tony, a heart and kidney recipient. Tony received his lifesaving gifts in March of 2020. For more than two years, Tony lit two candles for his “Angel Donor” in honor of their gift of life. In those two years, Tony did not know his donor’s identity. After posting his sign on a social media, Tony received a message that he had been waiting for since his transplants. In 2022, Tony was able to meet his Donor’s mom, Robin. He learned about his heroic donor, Sicily, and has developed a relationship with his new extended family. The tradition continues, but now two candles burn every evening in honor of Sicily. Without the generosity of heroic donors and their families, people like Tony would not have a second chance at life.

We are proud that Colorado and Wyoming are two of the most generous states in the country when it comes to registering to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. In 2024, our region experienced its most lifesaving year yet thanks to the generosity of 311 organ donors and 1,860 tissue donors. 947 organ transplants were made possible and thousands more lives were enhanced through tissue donation. Despite these milestones, many people across Colorado and Wyoming are continue to wait for a second chance at life through transplantation. We ask all Coloradoans and Wyomingites to shine a light on the importance of registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor. 

Free #ShineALight Kit

Additionally, Donor Alliance is inviting the community to request a free ‘Shine A Light’ kit on DecidingOnDonation.org. The kit includes a battery-operated candle and a “I Shine A Light For…” sign. Use a bold marker to write the name of the person you are honoring this April. Then, place the battery-operated candle and sign in your window or on your desk throughout the month to show your support.

If more than 1,300 of us shine a light in our window at home, it will inspire others to register. One person can save up to eight lives through organ donation. Up to 75 lives can be healed through tissue donation. If we highlight the need to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor, thousands of our neighbors waiting for a lifesaving transplant could be saved and healed by the gift of life. Join us and #ShineALight this April. 

How You Can Get Involved in National Donate Life Month

Easy Ways YOU Can Show Your Support:

National Donate Life Month 2025 is in full swing! We’ve already had some incredible events to raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation. But there’s still plenty of time to get involved and make a difference.

Check out our events calendar to see ways you can get involved during spirit week. One of our biggest events will be our Annual Blue and Green Lighting Event at Sculpture Park.  There are also many proclamations, flag raisings, and illuminations happening all across our region this month.

Wear your best blue & green Donate Life colors! From socks, to t-shirts, to bracelets and tutus. Now is the time to get creative to show your support for organ, eye and tissue donation!

Additionally, be sure to post your photos on social to inspire others to #ShineALight on organ, eye and tissue donation too! Be sure to tag us on @DonateLifeColorado @DonateLifeWyoming or @DoneVida_co using #ShineALight.

National Blue & Green Spirit Week is a great opportunity to show your support for organ, eye and tissue donation. If you have questions about donation, you can read up on the facts. You can also sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor anytime online at Donate Life Colorado or Donate Life Wyoming or when renewing your Driver’s License or State ID.

Additionally, visit decidingondonation.org to see other ways you can get involved with National Donate Life Month. Enter our Donor Alliance Connections challenge to win a free portable JBL speaker!