Thank you, Grace Sato; thank you, Kellye Miller; thank you to the Bottino Family. And thank you to the many selfless New Jersey residents who have made the life-giving decision to donate an organ or tissue.

Their personal stories are available on the Web site www.donatelifenj.org. It’s a one-stop resource to learn about organ and tissue donation in our state and, most importantly, it offers a simple way to join the statewide registry of designated donors.

I can’t underscore how important the issue is to your friends and neighbors across the Garden State. There currently are 4,200 N.J. residents who face a very uncertain future without an organ donation. Nationwide, about 100,000 people are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant, and another name is added to the list every 12 seconds. And each day, about 18 Americans die, still waiting…

April is National Organ Donation Awareness Month. Make it a time to talk with your family about organ donation and then take the next steps to become a designated donor. Surveys show that 90 percent of Americans say they support donation, but only 30 percent know how to take the steps needed to become a donor. It couldn’t be much easier. The next time you renew your drivers license, say “yes” to organ donation. Or take action today by visiting www.donatelifenj.org and sign up for the online registry.