Something amazing happened today. I went to the Donor Network West headquarters in San Ramon and met everyone!

At 3PM, I went up to meet with Cathy. I met Cathy Koubek at my cookbook release, and she’s basically the marketing person of Donor Network West.

She gave me a tour of the entire office. It was so exciting. This is where they matched my donor to me.

She gave me a rundown of where everyone was: marketing, research, volunteer services, donor help, and the kitchen.

The coolest part I think is the command center. I’m calling it the command center because it’s similar to a command center.

In the command center, organs are matched to their recipients. When a potential donor dies, nearby hospitals call the command center. If the potential donor is registered to be a donor, they’re added onto the database. If the potential donor is not registered to be an organ donor, a representative is sent to the hospital to talk to the family.

Once on the database, they match up the organs available to the best suited recipient. The recipient is then called by the hospital, and the organ is transported.

The command center is completely cut off from the rest of the office. They have their own separate AC, kitchen, and power supply (in case of an outage).

I met a lot of people. Beverley Mayer works with Cathy in marketing, and that’s where they try to spread awareness. Noel Sanchez works in marketing, along with Mike Fresie. So nice to meet them all!