A good friend of mine is getting ready to make a life-saving kidney donation to someone she knows from college. She recently shared that she’s been asked many times about the risk involved and whether she’s afraid of any potential consequences to her own health.
Her reply. “I feel at far greater risk every day when I get in my car and drive the 15 minutes to and from work.”
She then relayed a recent incident where she’d been driving home on one of St. Paul’s major city thoroughfares when a vehicle suddenly made a four-lane U-turn from the far westbound lane into the far eastbound lane. Two blocks later, that driver abruptly repeated the dangerous four-lane U-turn maneuver from the far eastbound lane back to the far westbound lane. Fortunately for my friend, she and the driver next to her were able to brake in time, avoiding what could have been a tragic crash, particularly for someone on the verge of making a life-saving organ donation.
As traffic safety advocates, we know the statistics and work hard to educate drivers, passengers, pedestrians and others on how they can prevent and avoid risky behaviors that can result in life-changing injury or death.
To put all this into perspective, a 2022 study by New York University’s Langone Health of 164,593 kidney donors from across the country found that over the past three decades less than 1 death occurred for every 10,000 donations. That translates into 36 deaths in total over 30 years and many lives saved or extended. The majority of those who died had pre-existing health conditions such as high blood pressure.
And while not an exact data comparison, by contrast the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that nearly 40,000 died in traffic crashes nationally in 2024. In Minnesota, 471 people died in traffic crashes in 2024, with alcohol impairment, speeding and distracted driving major contributing factors. These are all behaviors drivers can – and must – change.
We all work diligently year-around to educate and we can’t let up. Here in July, the midpoint of the 100 Deadly Days of Summer, we have an opportunity to remind our families, friends and colleagues that they have the power to reduce crash deaths by changing their own risky behaviors and modeling safe driving practices.
So here’s to a day when getting behind the wheel is no riskier than donating a kidney!
Yours in traffic safety,
Lisa
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