Today’s Favorite Friend Friday is a woman who is no stranger to the world of donation and transplantation. Tamikya Whittle is a nursing assistant in the emergency department of Christiana Care. She is also the mom to Cameron Whittle (and two more boys and three girls), who had his corneal transplant at 14 years old.

At work in addition to being responsible for drawing labs, beside procedure assistance, EKGs and more, Tamikya is also the one to make the initial calls to family members and Gift of Life when an individual passes away.

“There is such a big misconception around registering to be a donor because of how you will be treated in the hospital,” Tamikya explains. “People think that doctors won’t work as hard to save you. Once that misconception is out there in a community it’s hard to get rid of.”

Once her son Cam had his corneal transplant, Tamikya registered to be a donor herself. “There was a point in time where I was very uncertain about my son’s future. Now he is about to start his junior year of college and is well on his way to starting his own clothing line!”

“For anyone on the fence about registering to be a donor, I would try to get them to understand the truly lifechanging effects it can have on individual’s lives. There is no greater gift you can give.”