Student Organ Donation Advocates - SODA at UNI

04/23/2021

We are greatly honored to have been awarded this award!

04/16/2021

03/17/2021

SODA-UNI is an organization to spread awareness of organ donation on campus, education and increase registration for organ donation.

SODA-UNI will be having a meeting next week on March 22nd at 7:00PM. A living organ donor will be speaking to our student organization.

If your students are interested in joining our student organization and are interested in tuning into the meeting, fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOYs2DjWLZjGmeNHWvRn4mkepbgilHFoOK2hdU5L762M2zJw/viewform?gxids=7628

12/31/2020

12/16/2020

Meet our secretary Caitlin Sanderman! She is on the pre-med track with minors in chemistry and psychology.

“What interested me in SODA was it’s uniqueness; I have not come across an organization for students that raises awareness about organ donation before. This is generally not a topic that receives the attention that it is due. Organ donation is crucial and saves thousands of lives every year, and I was immediately drawn to SODA for this reason. I look forward to working with my fellow leadership team members in SODA to educate others about this very important subject.”

12/07/2020

We are so excited to be partnering with Donor Alliance for a webinar next week about the organ donation process. Be sure to register at sodanational.org/webinar!

12/02/2020

Meet Ervina Tabakovic our Vice President! She is a senior majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry!

“When I first found out about SODA and what this organization embodies I immediately knew I had to be a part of it. As someone whose uncle suffered from Parkinson’s disease, knowing that there wasn’t a great treatment or a cure for it made me feel powerless. As a club we have the immense power to save lives simply through awareness about organ donation. If we can save someone’s father, mother, sibling, etc we can bring in a little extra light that this world desperately needs. I am excited that this organization has made its way to UNI and I look forward to what this brings to our campus.”

11/25/2020

Nolan is a senior getting his B.A. in biology and biochemistry on the pre-medicine track and our chapter’s co-president!

“Wanting to become involved with SODA ties back to a deep personal experience watching my sister fight a rare form of brain and spinal cancer at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. My sister lost a hard fought battle but opened the door for cancer researchers by donating her brain to provide hope and a potential cure to children in our future suffering from terminal illness. I hope to use my experience with my sister by working in cancer research to inspire others to consider donation. I hope to bring in physicians in the field to educate us in transplant research in the future semesters.”

11/18/2020

Armin is both the co-founder of SODA-UNI and the president. He is a biology major with a minor in chemistry.

“As a Heart Transplant recipient, I have had the opportunity to educate individuals both before and after my bridge to transplantation. As an avid volunteer and advocate with Iowa Donor Network, I have touched many lives through my story. As a way to help spread awareness and education about organ donation, the other co-founder’s and I teamed up to create SODA-UNI. We hope to increase our memberships in the organization as the months continue and we look forward to the amazing opportunities ahead!”