County Executive Melissa Agard Honors April as Donate Life Month

April 16, 2025
execmedia@danecounty.gov, (608) 800-1127
County Executive

Shares Personal Story and Highlights Dane County’s Leadership in Tissue Donation

 

MADISON – This morning Dane County Executive Melissa Agard held a press conference at the Dane County Medical Examiner’s office recognizing April as National Donate Life Month, and honoring the lifesaving impact of organ, eye, and tissue donation. The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office is a leader in tissue donation. County Executive Agard reflected on the deeply personal meaning of donation.

 

“In 2016, I became a living donor when I gave a kidney to my father,” Agard said. “That decision extended his life by more than seven years. It gave our family more birthdays, more laughs, more quiet moments I will treasure forever. Being a donor didn’t just change my father’s life—it changed mine. It reminded me that we each have the power to give someone else a second chance. That’s a rare and beautiful thing.”

 

County Executive Agard also praised the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office for its national leadership in advancing tissue donation.

 

“Thanks to the incredible work of our Medical Examiner’s Office, led by Dr. Agnieszka Rogalska, Dane County is one of the top counties in the state for tissue donation,” Agard said. “Dr. Rogalska and her team have set a national standard—not just in professionalism, but in compassion and care. Their work ensures that even in times of tragedy, families are given an opportunity to create meaning from loss. And because of them, lives are not only honored—they are saved.”

 

National Donate Life Month is observed every April to raise awareness about the importance of donation, celebrate those who have saved lives through the gift of donation, and encourage more individuals to register as donors. In Wisconsin, nearly three million people are registered organ, tissue, and eye donors. Still, more than 1,400 Wisconsinites remain on the transplant waiting list.

 

“Every registered donor has the potential to save up to eight lives and heal dozens more through tissue donation,” Agard said. “This month is about honoring those who have said yes—whether as living donors, as families who made a courageous decision in a moment of heartbreak, or as professionals working every day to make donation possible.”

 

Dane County residents can register as donors online at http://www.donatelifewisconsin.org or when renewing a driver’s license or state ID at the DMV.