What better way to recognize Donate Life Month in April than to share with you the story of 5-year-old Daniel Jaramillo of Oakton, Va. Dani, who was born with a disease that affected his kidneys and eventually his liver, received a liver transplant at Children’s Hospital in February 2010. However, he is still in kidney failure and continues to be dependent on regular dialysis to keep him alive as he waits for a kidney transplant.

Last year, surgeons at Children’s Hospital performed 99 transplants in kids, more than any other center in the country. However, despite all of advancements in the field of pediatric transplantation, we are still limited by the number of organs available for transplant. If you’re not an organ donor, please consider becoming one.

For more information about the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at Children’s Hospital, visit www.chp.edu/transplant. For more information about organ donation, please visit the Center for Organ Recovery and Education at www.core.org.