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…)
Social networking and saving lives aren’t usually two phrases that go hand in hand. With the latest Timeline feature coming straight from Zuckerberg himself however, you can use time spent on social media to help support a cause.
Using the new Timeline layout, Facebook has developed a section where you can announce your status as an organ donor. In true Facebook fashion, by clicking a few options, the time and date you decided to become an organ donor appears on your Timeline for friends to comment on and see. According to Zuckerberg, this is a way to spread the word about organ and tissue donation. See exactly what inspired the Facebook CEO in this ABC interview.
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…)
Here Woody Roseland talks about his cancer and how he stays positive despite the odds. His trusted surgeon, Dr. Kelly, is by his side to give expert information on cancer and limb preservation. Check out their interview below.
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.
After living with cystic fibrosis for seventeen years, Tyler Nelson’s young body needed not one, but two new organs in order to survive. On February 29th, after waiting sixteen months, Nelson received the gift of life in the form a liver and and a pair of lungs. Get to know Tyler and his story in the video below, and read details on about this monumental surgery 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…)
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…)
February 14th is all about love. Not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it’s also National Donor Day. So while you’re remembering to show love for those closest to you, show love to your community by becoming an organ and tissue donor.
In the past, Allograft Possibilities has honored donors by telling their stories. National Donor Day is a great time to look back, read and remember Nick, Cameron and Ryan who chose to show love through donation. Thanks to that love, countless people can spend this Valentine’s Day with their loved ones, appreciating the gift of an enhanced or saved life.
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.
A New York gallery is featuring the work of five artists in a collection created as a tribute to organ donation. The collection, titled “As Within So Without,” features a creative mix of painted X-rays and organ donor dolls. According to the Wall Street Journal, 10 percent of proceeds will go to the Organ Donor Network of New York to support organ and tissue donation causes.
For years, people suffering from debilitating lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have had to deal with the possibility of a lung transplant. With growing transplant lists and the odds of matching a donor lung rare, those waiting for lung transplants have had to battle the odds for survival.
However, new research using stem cells to grow new lungs or lung tissue from the University of Texas Medical Branch may give hope to potential lung transplant recipients. Read more about the new research being tested on mice here.
Both donor families and organ tissue recipients have remarkable stories in the donation process, and we are passionate about highlighting those stories to bring better awareness to the cause of donation. We recently met an inspirational blogger who writes about his heart transplant at My Second Heartbeat. We encourage you to visit his blog to hear his brave, inspiring story.
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