Meet Sean Ling, 20-year-old donor

I joined the registry in the summer of 2014. I was approached by a woman named Carrie who basically told me about the program and how joining the registry would allow me to potentially save a person's life.

I was already interested when she told me about the program, as I am studying to get into medical school right now during my undergraduate at UT Austin in order to help those in need, but I was even more inclined to join when she told me that I could potentially match with a patient who was the same age as my baby brother. I donated on July 17, 2015.

The donation experience was oddly quite enjoyable. The doctors and staff in the Texas Medical Center are some of the best in the world, so I was not nervous at all when I was prepping for the procedure. The recovery process was uncomfortable for the first two days, but I felt significantly better on the third day. Six days after my surgery I was playing Ultimate Frisbee in a summer league that I joined.

It feels very gratifying to be a donor, to have known that I had made a difference in someone's life. Opportunities like this are the reasons why I've always wanted to become a doctor.

Join us in September as we work to save lives in our Month to Match.