Today we are pleased to offer this story as a part of Donate Life America’s “I Am Hope” initiative, in which a new story about donation or transplantation is shared each day of 2012. This story shows how donated tissue can truly change and enhance someone’s life.
It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving when Kathryn Hart’s life took an unexpected turn. Prior to that day, Hart was the epitome of an active individual. She was a runner, a yoga enthusiast, a horseback rider and an artist who painted and sculpted large pieces. Her active lifestyle was threatened however, when on that Sunday in 2004 Hart fell two stories from a ladder, shattering her leg.
“It was completely and totally shattered. The doctor told me he stopped counting after two dozen pieces of bone,” said Hart.
As a market researcher, Hart had worked in the donation industry, even doing research for the tissue bank that provided her allograft bone.
“I knew that I would probably need donor bone, so I asked specifically about it,” said Hart. “In my fever and drug-induced state, I asked the doctor if he planned to use donor bone and if so, whose it was. He responded with, ‘Who are you?’”
Though the main injury was her shattered leg, Hart’s body responded to the inflammation caused by the fall with a fever of over 104 degrees. (more…)
A large part of who Cameron had become was likely over. Competing as a student athlete on the lacrosse field was what he loved most. As team captain, he had every intention of leading his team throughout his senior year. Additionally, he was planning to continue playing the sport he loved in college.
“When I got word from my doctor that my senior year of lacrosse was over, I was devastated,” said Cameron McDonald.
During a game, Cameron injured his ankle. Thinking it was a minor injury, he continued playing. Despite initially thinking it was just a sprain, he woke up the next morning to an ankle swollen to the size of a basketball. (more…)
A large part of the United States’ foundation is religious freedom. As a result, there are many and various religions throughout the nation. Nearly all of these religions have addressed the issue of donation. Where do you think your church stands? Check out this comprehensive list of religions and what they say about donation here.
Are you willing to do anything to support organ and tissue donation? Guy Vroom certainly is! Guy is working with Donor Aliance as the Colorado drivers license spokesman to raise awareness for donation. Check out just how far Guy is willing to go for the cause!
After losing his son in a robbery gone wrong, Reg Green and his wife made the decision to donate their son’s tissue and organs. In the years to come, Green would find peace in knowing just how many lives his son impacted. Read this story of hope when facing loss here.
The National Kidney Foundation printed these 25 great facts about organ and tissue donation. Take a look and have your donation questions answered here.
As a cheerleading coach and life-long athlete, Barbara Richards was accustomed to falls and strains. Over the years however, those falls and strains caused serious damage to Richards’ knees.
“In the fall of 2009, I began having pain and swelling in my right knee,” said Richards. “By January 2010, I was unable to ski or play tennis.”
Soon the pain in her knee began impacting her everyday activities.
“I found that the long hours standing and working out with my team were becoming increasingly painful,” said Richards.
After going through physical therapy, Richards still found no relief from the constant pain. As a result, she opted for surgery to repair what was thought to be a torn meniscus.
“During the surgery, my doctor discovered a hole in the meniscus,” said Richards. “During a subsequent consultation, he told me that the only cure would be a tissue transplant.” (more…)
U.S. Marshall John Perry was shot and killed in the line of duty while serving his community. After his death, Perry continued to serve his community by saving and enhancing over 100 lives through organ and tissue donation. See the following video to hear about his legacy in life and in death.
Go Michigan! In February alone Michigan had nearly 41,000 residents sign up to be donors. Michigan is already 77 percent ahead of last year at this time, and it’s only March. See how they’ve expanded their outreach efforts here.
After losing her 17-year-old brother in a car accident, Caitlyn Persinger threw herself into sports. Her brother had always encouraged and pushed her to be the best. She was a gifted athlete and, as a freshman, made the varsity soccer team. Four years after her brother’s death, Caitlyn continued to be active in sports. While playing soccer her senior year of high school, Caitlyn twisted her knee and heard something snap. A trip to the hospital later, Caitlyn was told she had torn her ACL and would likely need a donor tendon to repair the damage. Immediately, Caitlyn’s parents’ thoughts turned to their son who had chosen to be an organ and tissue donor prior to his death. Read the rest of this incredible story here.
After losing his step father in a tragic fall, Brandon Witt and his mom made the split-second decision to donate his tissue. That decision, made in the midst of tragedy, led to a life-long friendship between Brandon and the young ballplayer who received his step father’s tissue. Hear their stories and watch their first in-person meeting in the video below.
National Donor Day is set aside to increase donor awareness and honor those who have already donated. Yet, in the midst of a tragic situation, it is the donor’s family that has to make the hard decisions. Those whose lives are saved or enhanced by that decision are often inspired and touched by the families they have never met. To honor the donor families on National Donor Day, here are words of thanks from our recipients.
“Everything I’ve done since the transplant and all that’s to come are because of the tissue donor family. The allograft gave me a second chance to fulfill an unrealized destiny.” May Chen, fresh tissue recipient (more…)
Arizona tissue donors number in the thousands as the state reports record donation highs.
The Donor Network of Arizona says 477 lives were saved in 2011 through organ donation while tissue donations restored mobility and sight to thousands.
Arizona stands as a great example of the lives that can be saved and enhanced through active and informed citizens. Read more about their success here!
Just weeks after competing in a mini-triathlon with his three sons, Kurt Person lost the ability to use his right shoulder. Prior to the injury-causing accident, Person could often be found competing in triathlons, barefoot-water skiing, test riding motor cycles, All Terrain Vehicles and snow mobiles, or taking part in his favorite activity: playing ball with his sons.
While testing the brakes on an all-terrain vehicle as part of his occupation, Person crashed, severing the four main tendons and ligaments in his shoulder.
“I was told a break would have been easier to fix,” said Person. “After a month of immobilized healing, it became clear that a total reconstruction would be needed to restore the arm and shoulder function.”
What Person didn’t know was that somewhere, someone who had lost a loved one had donated tissue, making the reconstruction of his shoulder (more…)
Pop sensation Justin Bieber increases organ and tissue donations while helping a young girl in need
While awaiting a lung transplant, 20-year-old Helene Campbell decided to take action and increase donor awareness. Campbell and friends focused on a Twitter campaign with a specific goal in mind: getting Justin Bieber to take notice and spread the word to his 16-million followers.
Well they got Justin’s attention, and with his support via Twitter, a Canadian organ registry received more than 500 new registrants within just a few days. Check out the full story here.
Congratulations to Donor Alliance, the federally-designated organ procurement organization serving Colorado and Wyoming, which this week reported that it increased driver’s license office donor registration in 2011. This maintains Colorado’s position as one of the highest donor designation rates in the country. (At the close of 2011, 67 percent of Colorado’s licensed drivers and ID card holders had joined the registry. Similarly, Wyoming’s registry remained at a strong 59 percent donor designation rate.)
The organization also recovered more bone and joint restoration tissue grafts, allowing roughly 48,000 people to regain mobility and active lives after disease or trauma last year.
Donor Alliance has also launched Donate Life Colorado and Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages, where it will bust myths surrounding donation, and answer questions from the public.
“Participating in the Donate Life Rose Parade Float as a float rider was an amazing time. It was awesome decorating the float with all the other participants. After spending time with the donor families who participated, I decided to pen a thank-you letter to my own donor family. At first I was intimidated but they quickly made me feel comfortable. Hearing their stories convinced me that writing my letter was the right thing to do. All who had received letters from their recipients were happy to have them, and another woman told me that it had been many years since her deceased son had given the gifts of life, but she had never received a single letter and it made her very sad.
“This experience has overwhelmed me with emotion. I can’t wait to get more involved with the cause of organ and tissue donation, and look forward to potentially assisting with an awareness program for my community’s high schools. Maybe seeing a face with a story of recovery and hope will encourage kids to check that donor box when they get their licenses! Thank you to my sponsor AlloSource for all the magic you’ve exposed me to!”
- Susan Cossabone, cellular bone transplant recipient. Read Susan’s story here.
The following story about Rose Parade float rider and tissue recipient Susan Cossabone has been published more than 600 times by newspapers and regional television networks’ websites throughout the country. Additionally, NBC40 in New Jersey produced this segment on her story. Great media visibility promoting the possibilities of tissue donation!
How a woman’s leg was saved by donated tissue
The gift of donated human tissue meant that Susan Cossabone was able to avoid leg amputation and return to her passion of horseback riding following a devastating accident.
Cossabone will join 27 other float riders from around the country Jan. 2 on the Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. The float, now in its ninth year, is a tribute to the millions of people touched by organ, tissue and blood donation. (more…)
At 77 years old, Jane Przedpelski describes herself as “happily active.” A Colorado resident, she finds pleasure in camping, snowshoeing and walking in the mountains and the desert with her husband. However, a fall from a ladder and subsequent broken leg threatened her active lifestyle.
The fall resulted in a broken tibia, or shin bone. Doctors recommended that she have surgery to repair the bone, as it was not likely to heal well enough on its own. The surgery involved implanting a steel plate against her bone for structural support. Additionally, after finding osteoporosis in the bone during surgery, the doctor chose to also transplant bone grafts from a deceased human donor into Jane’s injured bone to allow it to strengthen over time.
An unfamiliar concept to Jane, she questioned her doctor about the bone tissue transplant.
“I asked the doctor if compatibility studies had been done,” Jane said. “He explained that contrary to organ transplants, it was not necessary.” (more…)
As Thanksgiving approaches, please pause with us to give thanks for the selfless tissue donors and their brave families who make the choice to give the gift of life.
Each year, life-saving and life-enhancing tissue is provided by approximately 30,000 tissue donors. Just one tissue donor can enhance the lives of more than 50 people.
Approximately 1.5 million allografts are transplanted each year for a variety of life-saving and life-enhancing surgeries that many are not aware of:
bone grafts for patients with bones degenerated by cancer
cornea transplants to help restore sight
heart valves to replace damaged heart tissues
skin grafts to save the lives of burn victims
tendon, meniscus and soft tissue replacements to help people lead more active lives.
Connie Hilger eagerly anticipated her adult son’s visit home for Christmas in 2009. During his visit, he teamed up with his former classic rock band for a reunion show at a local pub. Connie’s family, as well as the family of another band member, were excited to be together for the holidays and were enjoying the show. Suddenly, trouble broke out in the pub.
Connie says “If one life can breathe easier because of me, then I’ve gained my own measure of success. If I could speak to my donor I would say: thank you for helping to make people at a small county fair smile. You’re a success.”
“An argument erupted behind me,” Connie said. “I stood up to move to the other side of the table but my snow boot caught on the rung of the chair just as one man pushed another into me, knocking me over.” Shortly thereafter, as Connie was still lying on the floor, a large man fell onto her legs. Connie sustained serious injuries: her left leg was broken and her right ACL was blown out.
Aside from the pain and day-to-day struggles that dealing with two injured legs presented, Connie’s injuries also meant she could not adequately do her job, which she had a great passion for. After serving as Montana’s property tax supervisor for 30 years, Connie was at the time working as the local county fair manager. Although the work was taxing (including everything from negotiating entertainment contracts to cleaning horse stalls), she absolutely loved it.
“Seeing smiling faces at a summertime county fair is one of the warmest feelings a heart can experience,” Connie said. (more…)
A reader recently wrote into the San Antonio Express-News to ask this question. She had “heard of families losing a loved one, being pressured to donate the deceased’s organs, then being charged for organ removal.”
In the newspaper’s response, they quote the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance: “It does not cost anything to be a donor. No costs directly related to organ and tissue donation are passed on to the family.”
A Columbus Crew rookie said on Friday that a tissue donation saved his dream of playing soccer in the professional league.
Several years ago Bernardo Anor suffered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, 10TV’s Tracy Townsend reported on Friday.
“I received the ball I was going to turn with the ball when a guy came and tackled me from behind and he basically hit my knee,” Anor said.
Anor’s doctors said that he would be out of the game for nearly a year. His treatment options included a tissue transplant or a series of surgeries to replace the torn ligament with one from his right leg, followed by a lengthy recovery and rehab.
Anor chose the transplant. He said he was grateful for such a gift.
“Since I got that from somebody I’m willing to give it for some other people too that’s why I’m a registered donor,” Anor said.
Families from south central Wisconsin gathered to light candles over the weekend to remember some departed loved ones who brought hope and life to others.
The “Reflections of Life, Reflections of Love” ceremony was a chance for families to honor loved ones who helped save someone’s life through tissue donation.
“When you lose a loved one, you don’t want them forgotten, so it’s a way to have them remembered,” said Loni Wednt, whose departed mother and daughter were both donors. “And you are with people, others who know what you’ve gone through, and they understand that too, so you don’t have to be afraid to cry or share your feelings.”
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