Months of despair gave way to a time of hope for Dave Olson and his family in Mondovi in October. That's when he received a kidney from Sally Pfund, a long-time volleyball coach who passed away unexpectedly at age 49.

"It's very difficult," Dave said. "Lots of mixed emotions."

"The circumstances are very tragic," said Pfund's sister, Cindy Johnson. "The fact that I actually know Davey and that he was lucky enough to receive one of her organs makes me very happy."

Now Dave has blood drawn every other day, and takes anti-rejection medication daily.

Doctors are making sure he's getting the right doses.

"I'm just worried that something will come up and that he'll have to stay at the hospital again for a while," said the Olsons' 11-year-old son Wyatt. "I don't want that."

Dave says the medication makes him susceptible to skin cancer, but that his doctors tell him things are looking good so far.

"Every time the blood tests come back that everything's working great is just a good peace of mind," said Dave's wife Wendy.

The Olsons say Sally and her family deserve the credit for that.

"I can pretty much lead a pretty normal life now, thanks to her," Dave said.

Dave may be back to work in early December, but he says he'll spend the rest of his life keeping a close eye on his health.

"They tell me six months is the goal," he said. "If you can make it six months without a real rejection episode, you're probably good to go."

It's thanks to "The Gift of Life" he says he was very lucky to receive.

A spokesperson for UW-Health Transplant and Organ Procurement says right now more than 1,500 people are on the waiting list for an organ transplant.

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Here are some more facts about organ donation from UW-Health:

Forty percent of the people who are currently on the organ waiting list are under the age of 50, and 30 of those people are under the age of 18.

In 2008, more people than ever in Wisconsin made the decision to donate their organs. A total of 229 donors shared the gift of life in Wisconsin in 2008.

Nationally, a new patient is added to the transplant waiting list every 11 minutes.

Every day in the U.S., 19 people die waiting for their organ transplant.

Up to eight lives can be saved by every organ donor. Additionally, two people can receive the gift of sight through cornea donation and dozens more can receive life-enhancing tissue, bone and skin transplants.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Organ Transplantation Breakthrough Collaborative recently recognized Luther-Midelfort Hospital with a National Medal of Honor for their work to improve organ donation rates in Wisconsin. Luther-Midelfort Hospital was one of two hospitals in the state, and just 30 in the nation, to earn a gold medal.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles, about 53.5% of Wisconsin’s drivers and ID card holders have said “yes” when asked by DMV staff if they wish to be recorded as potential donors. That compares to 46% at the end of 2004. Wisconsin’s new online donation registry, a secure web site where people can register themselves as donors, will be introduced in April 2010 (You can register your intent to be a donor and receive an orange donor dot for your driver's license by clicking on the link below).

It is very important to tell your family that you support donation. People can also complete a living will and/or a Power of Attorney (POA) that states their wishes to be a donor.

Wisconsin bid on and won the opportunity to host the 2010 National Kidney Foundation U.S. Transplant Games. It's an Olympic-style event for transplant recipients. The Games will be in Madison in July 2010. More than 8,000 recipients, their families, donor family members, and the public at large are expected.