Before the passing of her cousin, Ronald Curtis, honorary HonorBridge board member Rose Morales had never given much thought to organ donation.
“I had no experience whatsoever with organ donation,” says Rose. “No one in our family, on either side, had been organ donors or recipients. We never even talked about it.”
Her cousin, Ronald, broke the mold when he passed away on April 9, 2022—becoming the first registered organ, eye, and tissue donor in his family.
“We didn’t even know he was a donor,” said Rose. “He had just gone to get his ID, and when he got it, he apparently made the decision to be an organ donor. A team member from HonorBridge came in and explained things. She was very knowledgeable and stuck with us from the very beginning all the way through to the end. Our experience with HonorBridge was awesome.”
A huge smile spreads across Rose’s face when she is asked to describe her cousin.
“Ronald was quiet, but he was funny, and he had the best smile,” says Rose. “He was 50 when he passed away during his birthday month and he was the youngest of three boys. He was very tall, like 6’5”, but he had the smallest voice. You’d never think when he opened his mouth that it was the voice you would get! He would share with you whatever he had. He knew everybody’s birthdays and he would call us to wish us a happy birthday—I really miss that now. He was such a nice guy, very loving and soft-spoken.”
Ronald’s generous and loving nature saved the lives of two women—a grandmother of five in her sixties and a woman in her forties who now lives a life free from dialysis. In addition, small samples of blood and urine were recovered for the APOLLO research project, a gift that will impact thousands by helping the medical community improve outcomes after kidney donation and transplantation for those with African ancestry.
“Knowing he saved lives has helped with my healing a lot,” says Rose. “I think about him all the time. It’s also changed my perspective, because you never know how long you’re going to be here. Since Ronald has passed away, I’ve lost family members and numerous friends from natural deaths, overdoses … you never know when your day is coming. Now, I encourage people to talk about donation beforehand. Have the conversation before something happens, because it’s a big decision to make when you’ve lost a loved one.”
In May 2024, Rose got an unexpected call from HonorBridge President & CEO Danielle Bumarch.
“She said she would like to make me an honorary board member,” said Rose. “She called a few weeks after my brother, Chris, had passed. I was shocked. When I got off the phone, I said, ‘Thank you Ronald, and thank you, Chris.’ I saw it as a way to keep my cousin’s memory alive.”
Since joining the board, Rose, who owns Triangle Homecare Agency in Raleigh, says her understanding of donation has deepened, even with her background in healthcare.
“I’ve worked as an employee in the hospital and an employee in a nursing facility, but to learn the ins and outs of the donation process has been very interesting,” says Rose. “Danielle brought me to the new building, and I was able to see the facility in Chapel Hill, and it was just amazing. They have a small hospital there and they have it set up so that family members can be there with their loved one until the very end. It’s very nice and money well spent.”
Today, Rose hopes that more families, including her own, will consider saying “yes” to donation.
“I hope that others will make the same decision,” she says. “Just have the conversation. Even if it doesn’t go anywhere, maybe when that time comes, they will consider it. If you’re going to help someone else, why not? Donation is a big thing, and people in the community should get invested a little bit more. Talk about it and get the word out there.”
75 or more lives can be saved and healed by one organ, eye, and tissue donor. Sign up today!
