Gift of Life: The Cheeks family talks about receiving - and giving

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- For its 50th anniversary, the Gift of Life Donor program is working to register 50,000 new donors in the Philadelphia area.

Signing up takes a few minutes, but can save or change many lives.

A family in Mt. Airy is grateful to have received the gift of a transplant, and been able to donate as well.

Just back from Jamaica, Rafiah Cheeks, his sister, and niece are already planning their next adventure.

"What about Puerto Rico?" asks Rafiah, only to hear a sigh from sister Antonia Alford.

Today, you'd never know he was a very sick baby due to liver failure.

"He broke his leg. It wouldn't heal, so he was in the cast forever," remembers Antonia of how the liver failure affected all of Rafiah's health.

It was two years before a new liver was available.

"When my mom got the call, we were out the door," she recalls.

Rafiah was among the first to have a transplant at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

His mom, Michelle, had a system so the family made sure her 3-year-old son took all his anti-rejection drugs.

"Me, my brother and my mom - all his medications. They had to circle colored dots - how many per day? It was so much medicine," Antonia says.

Rafiah remembers it too, but for it's bitter taste.

"It was real nasty. I didn't like taking that," he says with a laugh.

After some early ups and downs, Rafiah has been mostly healthy, going to Gift of Life's overnight camp, despite mom's first-year jitters.

"Who's going to give his medicine? Who's going to do that? But the nurses, everyone was there," Antonia says.

He excelled at the Transplant Games.

"He was going every two years, winning medals," she says.

"Bowling, track and field. I did the long jump, volleyball," he recalls.

When Michelle passed away in 2021, there was no question she wanted to be a donor.

Gift of Life CEO Rick Hasz says donation helps more people than ever.

"One organ donor can help eight people, and one tissue donor can help over 100 individuals," Hasz says.

You should donate, because you might need one," Antonia says, adding, "Gift of Life has been a lifesaver for us."

If you want to be an organ donor talk to your family, or better yet, join the national registry through the Gift of Life. It takes just a minute.

Click here: Sign-Up-to-Save-Lives

Your donor status won't be on your driver's license, but it will be on the national rolls.