“As American Indians, We Value Helping One Another.”
We are proud of the traditions that guide our spirit of community and unity
Talk Donation is designed to elevate the voices of the vibrant communities of American Indians across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota inspired to expand awareness and participation in the organ donation and transplantation process.
Together, our individual actions and the powerful stories of donors and recipients can create a ripple effect of more opportunities for positive impact.
Images from 2017 and 2018 public awareness campaign
Collaborating with the community
Talk Donation is about community connections and helping others by informing, educating, and empowering people to make their own choice to become an organ donor. Our efforts are built on a foundation of collaboration and co-creation. By working directly with community members, this effort is guided by the wisdom, and personal and cultural context that each member is willing to share and bring forward. The public awareness campaign features community leaders and members and reflects the strong spiritual traditions of American Indian culture.
Through research, listening sessions, in-depth interviews and meaningful conversations, Talk Donation aims to inspire American Indian communities to use their own voice and share their stories with one another or to simply “talk donation.” Talk Donation is about building trust and awareness and providing resources and information that can help every community member make informed decisions and spark conversations. We know that the choice to become a donor is a very personal one which is why our approach is to share space and ideas, listen and, most importantly, talk with people rather than at them.
How We Did It
Community Engagement
To develop the original Talk Donation campaign in 2017, LifeSource and Hennepin County Medical Center facilitated six listening sessions with a total of 41 Native American participants living in the Twin Cities.
During these sessions, participants shared opinions, asked questions, gained knowledge and discussed common perceptions about organ donation. Thank you to every one who took part in this effort for the opportunity to have conversations that can help serve the community better, and ultimately save more lives.
Behind the scenes
Our partners and collaborators
LifeSource is a nonprofit medical organization that partners with communities, families, government agencies, healthcare professionals and many others to save and heal lives through advocacy and excellence in organ donation. LifeSource serves 7 million people who live in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Western Wisconsin.
Thank you to our partners:
Minnesota Department of Health, whose mission is protecting, maintaining and improving the health of all Minnesotans.
Hennepin Healthcare, whose mission is to partner with their community, their patients and their families to ensure access to outstanding care for everyone, while improving health and wellness through teaching, patient and community education, and research.
The Minnesota transplant centers with whom we proudly work each day to save lives.
