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HEADLINERS AND FEATURES
Frist,
Dodd Applaud President's Signing Of Organ Donation Bill
Organ
donors are nation's unsung heroes You don't have to rush into a
burning building. You don't have to jump into a
raging river, either. You don't even have to take a class in CPR to become a
hero by saving someone's life. When a person agrees to become
an organ donor, the effects of that decision are far-reaching. "Seven different people's
lives can be saved, and up to 100 more can be improved through tissue
transplants," said Kim Kennedy, senior public education coordinator for
Mountain Region Donor Services. And while it's easy to see how
organ donation benefits those in need of a transplant, Kennedy understands
firsthand that the benefits extend far beyond the recipient's medical miracle. Kennedy's husband died in
November 2003 after suffering a brain aneurysm and donated life-saving organs to
three different people. "One of Jim's kidneys was
transplanted to a lady in Memphis who is 52 years old, and she had been waiting
for a kidney for almost three years," said Kennedy. "His other kidney
went to a 45-year-old lady in Nashville, and his liver was also transplanted in
Nashville to a 50-year-old gentleman." "It has been a blessing to
me," she said. "Jim was 43 years old, and none of us saw this coming.
It's a terrible tragedy in our lives, and it's the darkest time I've ever
experienced. "But through organ
donation, three people are alive because of my husband's giving heart. And
that's the way Jim lived his life - he was always giving to others. Even if he
didn't have it to give, he'd find a way. So this is a way to honor him. It gives
us comfort, it gives us hope for the recipients, and it gives us a ray of light
in a very dark time." Between 15,000 and 17,000 people
who die in the United States each year are eligible to donate organs, but
according to the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, only about 54
percent of them actually donate. There are a number of reasons
why people are hesitant to give their organs or allow a family member's organs
to be donated, but many of those reasons involve misconceptions about the
donation process, Kennedy said. "Disfigurement is a major
concern for some people," she said. "They're concerned about whether
or not they can have an open-casket funeral. But they can. My husband did."
"A lot of people are afraid
of bone donation in particular because they think of the disfigurement issue,
but we put in artificial bones, so the person's body still looks normal,"
Kennedy said. "Another consideration is
religious questions. A lot of people are unsure what their religion says about
organ donation. But most major religions are either in favor of donation or they
leave it up to their individual members as a personal choice. "Another concern is that
people think it's going to cost them because there's surgery involved. But they
don't pay anything for the donation process. The recovery agency pays for
that." Some people are afraid that if
they are a registered organ donor, they would receive a lesser quality of care
if they should ever find themselves in a life-threatening situation, but Kennedy
said there is no reason to believe such a thing would happen. "The doctors and nurses
that are taking care of the person who might be a potential organ donor in the
hospital don't have anything to do with the transplantation process," she
said. "They're not transplant surgeons. They're not the organ recovery
agency. So there's no incentive for them to make that happen. The other thing is
it's not medically feasible because they don't even know who that person would
match." The organ transplantation
process can begin only after a patient has been declared brain dead. "When someone passes away
in the hospital, the hospital calls us and lets us know, and if the person meets
the criteria for donation, then our coordinators will check and see if they have
registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles to be an organ donor,"
said Kennedy. "If they have not, then our
coordinators will ask the family if the person wanted to be an organ donor. If
they don't know what the person's wishes were, then it's up to the family to
decide. But if the person has designated their wishes via the driver's license
or through a donor card, then the family can't say no." "If the person has decided
to be a donor or if the family decides to donate, then our coordinators will
talk with them about the patient's medical and social history and fill out the
forms that need to be filled out. "Then our organ recovery
coordinators will find recipients that match the donor and call those transplant
centers to get the organs placed. The surgeons from the transplant centers will
come into the hospital to do the organ recovery, and they take the organs with
them to their transplant centers where they will be transplanted into the
recipient," Kennedy said. The donation process is usually
swift and does not delay the donor's funeral, she said. While there are a number of ways
to become an organ donor, the most important step to take is to notify your
family. "Most of the time when
someone donates organs, it's through the family and not through any kind of
documentation," Kennedy said. For those who want to leave
behind a record of their decision, however, legal documentation of such a wish
is not hard to come by. "The easiest way to be an
organ donor is to just sign a donor card and carry it with you," said
Kennedy. "You can call (your donor services office) to request a free donor
card." "If you want to be on the
registry through the DMV, you have to check that box when you renew your
driver's license. On the Tennessee driver's license application, it is a check
box. But you sign to the right of it, so it is a legal document," Kennedy
said. "Also in Tennessee, the
back of your driver's license is a donor card, so you can just fill that out
too," she added. In some states, a person's
family can override their decision to donate organs. But in Tennessee and
Virginia, Kennedy said, a person's signature on their organ donor card or
driver's license is legally binding and can't be disregarded. "But it's very important to
talk with your family," Kennedy said. "If you haven't actually signed
that donor card on the back of your driver's license, or you haven't signed a
form with the DMV, then your family is going to have to sign the form." Ways to become an organ donor •Tell your family of your
desire to donate. •Check the organ donor box on
your driver's license application. •Fill out the organ donor card
on the back of your driver's license (in some states). •Call (your local donor
services office) to have a free organ donor card mailed to your home. •Indicate your desire to
donate in your living will. Facts About Organ Donation •Organ donation does not
disfigure the donor's body. An open-casket funeral is still possible. •Organ donation involves no
cost to the donor's family or estate. •Most major religions either
advocate organ donation or leave it up to the individual as a personal choice. •A patient's status as an
organ donor will never affect the quality of care he or she receives in the
hospital. •In most cases, organ donation
does not delay the donor's funeral. •A single person's choice to donate organs and tissue can save the lives of up to seven people and improve the lives of over 100 more. Reprinted with permission
from the author and Kingsport Times-News
TDS Receives the first ever "Special Award for Life-Giving Service" from the United Network for Organ Sharing for its Life Saving Efforts on September 11 more
Adam's
Story Today,
an eight-year-old boy is playing with his parents at their home in Louisiana.
Three years ago, he was in a hospital bed, dying of kidney disease. A
51-year-old man has received a new heart, and can look forward to a long and
healthy life with his wife and child. That was unlikely a few years ago.
Two Tennessee senior citizens are enjoying the gift of restored vision.
The lives of 50 others have been saved or dramatically improved through the
transplantation of other organs and tissues such as bone and skin. They can all thank 22-year-old Adam and his parents. Adam was killed in an automobile accident in 1998. “Adam’s life had ended, but to waste the opportunity to give life to other people would have been a sin,” says his father. “The hurt is deep, but these days we can acknowledge that some good has come out of this,” he explains. “This is a continuation of Adam’s life – that’s a source of solace for us.” Even Adam seemed to agree. Among the condolences that poured in after his death was a letter from Adam’s philosophy instructor.
Brandy
Ann By: Juanita Hicks, Donor Mother
In September 1997 our
beautiful 18-year-old daughter was in a car accident that took her life.
Brandy Ann Hicks was a very special young lady and our only child. She was
spoiled and she knew it, but she was such a wonderful child, never giving us a
minute’s trouble. She was a “people person” with friends from six
months old to 93 years. Brandy Ann was always thinking of others and she
was loved by many. It is difficult for me to put into words what I want
everyone to know about Brandy. God blessed us with a very special little
girl. On
her 16th birthday she got her driver’s license. We had her take
driver’s education in high school and as a result she attended a class on
organ donation. Well, “Miss Priss”, as I often called her, bounced
through the front door of our house that day and said, “Momma, I am going to
donate my organs!” It caught me so off guard, I looked at her like she
was a crazy person. This was my daughter, my only child – I told her I did not
want to have this conversation. I assured her that I would be gone long
before her. Nevertheless, she insisted, saying, “Now, Momma, if
anything happens to me I want to donate my organs – please donate my
organs.” So, we started to talk about it. The more she talked, the
more interested I became and got caught up in her enthusiasm. Well,
when Brandy was in the car accident, the doctor told us her chances were “slim
to none”. He went on to say, “Have you considered organ donation?”
With everything that had happened, we just didn’t want to talk about that
then. The car wreck occurred on a Friday night. We stayed up all
night at the hospital and the following morning at 9:30 a.m. the doctor came and
told us that Brandy was brain dead and that she was gone. Again, he asked,
“Have you thought about organ donation?” Recalling our conversation
about donation and her firm belief in it, we said yes. Brandy
Ann’s heart now beats in the chest of a lady in Mississippi. Her liver
saved the life of a man in Tennessee and one of her kidneys and her pancreas
went to a gentleman in North Carolina. Her other kidney is with a young
woman in her thirties. I have had contact with three of the four people
that Brandy Ann saved by donating her organs. It is a joy to know that our
baby girl saved their lives by being so loving and kind. I can’t begin
to tell you how bad it hurts not to have her with us. I don’t think we
will ever get over the death of our daughter and what our loss has done to our
hearts. But, she taught us so much in her 18 years that has made us better
people. It was and will continue to be an honor and privilege to love her.
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Regional Offices Golden State Donor Services 1.916.567.1600 Referrals 1.800.762.8819 Fax 1.916.567.8300 Mountain Region Donor Services 1.423.915.0808 Referrals 1.888.562.3774 Fax 1.423.915.1170 New Mexico Donor Services 1.505.843.7672 Referrals 1.800.843.7672 Fax 1.505.343.1828 Sierra Eye and Tissue Donor Services 1.916.569.0200 Referrals 1.800.762.8819 Distribution 1.800.435.5780 Fax 1.916.569.0300 Tennessee Donor Services Nashville 1.615.234.5251 1.888.234.4440 Referrals 1.800.969.4438 Fax 1.615.320.1655 Tennessee Donor Services Chattanooga 1.423.756.5736 Fax 1.423.756.5904 Tennessee Donor Services Knoxville 1.865.588.1031 Fax 1.865.588.5903 Tennessee Donor Services Jackson 1.731.425.6393 Our Corporate Office DCIDS Organ Services 1.888.234.4440 DCIDS Tissue Services 1.888.234.4399 DCIDS Tissue Orders 1.888.216.0319
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Memories
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