At just 4 days old, Adrianna Martinez’s doctors confirmed she was born without small intestines, and her only chance for survival was a transplant.

Adrianna’s family waited patiently as their little girl grew big enough for a transplant, and in November 2009, seven days after her first birthday, Adrianna received a liver, pancreas and small intestine transplant.

Currently there are more than 2,300 people in Arizona on the national organ transplant waiting list. Of those waiting in Arizona, more than 59 percent are minorities, a number that is reflected across the board nationally, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

From July 9 to July 22, we celebrate the fact that everyone has the opportunity to save lives through organ and tissue donation. The Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation partnered with Donate Life America in 2015 to create Donate Life ECHO, which stands for Every Community Has Opportunity. Donation gives every community the chance to make a difference, and some even watch the gift of life come full circle.

Adrianna is now a healthy 4-year-old, and everyone in Adrianna’s family has since registered as donors.

“Her story has inspired many of our friends and family,” says Tasha Bowman, Adrianna’s mother. “Some were once afraid to donate, and now they support it.”

These two weeks of Donate Life ECHO bring attention to the current health needs of multicultural communities and help encourage registrations and education to end the waiting list.

Join Donate Life Arizona and Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association on July 18 from 10 to 11 a.m. MST for a Twitter chat about #DonateLifeECHO. Give hope to those who are waiting on the generosity of a stranger by linking your community to the conversation and registering to be an organ and tissue donor.

“Donation gave Adrianna a normal life. We are so grateful to the family who donated their loved one’s organs,” says Tasha.