Approximately 1.5 million tissue transplants are performed each year. Allograft tissue can: save patients facing life-threatening burns, allow athletes with torn ligaments or tendons to heal and regain strength, restore hope to military men and women whose bones or joints have been crushed in combat, and repair musculoskeletal structures, teeth, skin, and spinal components in patients of all varieties. None of this would be possible without the generosity of each tissue donor and the strength of their family. They look beyond their own grief to envision the possibilities that lie beyond.
The stories below tell the compelling stories of recipients whose lives have been changed by tissue donation, and the brave donor families that make these possibilities realities.
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…)
As a professional opera singer, Charity Tillemann Dick needed a good set of lungs. However, at the age of 20 she developed a dangerous condition and needed an immediate lung transplant. After her first tranplant, her body began rejecting the new lungs, thus putting her on a tulmutuous journey waiting for the second pair. See her amazing story and hear her amazing voice in the video below.
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.
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.
“Ryan died April 7, 2007. My head knows this as fact, but my heart is still waiting for my boy to come home.” Ryan’s mother Pat cries for him every night. They shared a special closeness and a love of people, especially small people.
Ryan never met a stranger and his friends said his constant smile was their favorite part about him. They could be having a down day, but after being with Ryan they felt good. He would introduce his mother to his friends this way: “This is my Mom. She’s cool!” He was fun, funny and never used dark humor to run someone else down. He was comfortable in his skin, confident and okay with himself and who he was.
Ryan Joseph Landers was born in Louisville, KY, March 24, 1988. He was the middle child, younger brother to Chris and older brother to Kelly. He was 6 when the family moved to Cape Girardeau, MO. Three years later the family settled in Springfield, IL. It wound up being the place Ryan called home for the longest period in his life, although Louisville was always home and he’s buried there in Resthaven Cemetery about a mile from where the family lived the first six years of his life.
Ryan excelled in art and later his teacher told him when he was graduating from high school that he should consider a degree in art education. He was great with kids and one of his part-time jobs was a monitor in the after-school program at a private church school.
His passions began with skateboarding, followed by guitar lessons and several guitars and amplifiers, and ultimately cars. At various times Ryan owned up to 7 cars. He would make modifications on them regarding air flow and exhaust systems. He repainted the interior trim on his ’98 Hyundai Tiburon, which still sits in the family driveway. His project car was “Delores”, an ’89 Honda Civic, and it was his primary commuter car to work and school. His pride and joy was the 2000 Honda Civic SI, with the V-Tech engine, which he and his mother bought in December, 2006, and he had his accident in 4 months later. (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…)
Take a moment to view this touching story of a U.S. Navy veteran who received the gift of an organ donation from an Air Force Academy cadet.
The recipient and donor were matched by Donor Alliance, the non-profit organ procurement organization and tissue bank serving Colorado and most of Wyoming. Last week, Donor Alliance was recognized with an award for its participation in the Military Organ Sharing Program, presented by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The Military Sharing Program allows military members and their families the opportunity to designate donated organs to military beneficiaries listed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The program provides active duty military personnel and their families who need a kidney transplant with a greater chance of receiving an organ than they might normally have had since most military families move around frequently.
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…)
Check out this important video from Upstate New York Transplant Services for teens, about making the choice to be organ and tissue donors. In this video, teens discuss the facts and myths often held about donation, and we hear some testimonials from organ and tissue recipients.
Following 9/11, Zach felt like many other Americans, “I was tired of watching everything that was happening on TV and thought there had to be a way I could do more to help.” This inspired him to take his EMT experience and passion for medicine and become a combat medic in the army.
After all the necessary training, Zach was sent overseas to the Korengal Valley, in the Kunar Province in Afghanistan. Bordering Pakistan and China, in 2007 the Kunar Province was a mix of terrorist cells, including Al-Qaida, all vying for control. This made it site of some of the heaviest fighting in the Afghan War. Twelve months into his deployment and only a few weeks from his return home, Zach was on patrol when his platoon came under fire from enemy insurgents.
During the attack, one of Zach’s friends had his leg blown off by a rocket propelled grenade and Zach crawled out into an unprotected area, while being fired upon, to bring his friend to safety. While pulling the wounded soldier back behind cover, unbeknownst to him, Zach was shot. He called for a military evacuation helicopter, while stopping the bleeding with a tourniquet and starting an IV on his wounded comrade. Another soldier pointed out blood on Zach’s pant leg and asked him if it was his. Zach said, “I didn’t feel anything until then. But as soon as I saw it, I felt the pain and it was excruciating.” He called the medical evacuation helicopter again and told them to bring a replacement medic. About ten minutes later, the helicopter arrived and both he and his friend were taken for further medical treatment. (more…)
Susan Cossabone always had a gift with horses and a passion for riding. To fulfill that passion, she owned a 10-acre ranch, Hidden View Farm, with 26 horses. Not only did she ride for hours a day, Susan also rode competitively, helped retrain difficult horses, and set up an equine summer camp for at-risk and mentally and physically disabled children. Her passion kept her motivated as she managed most of the ranch alone.
This all changed on a snowy day in 2009. Driving home from dropping off a friend, a car slid out of its lane and struck Susan’s vehicle head on. Witnesses called 911. Due to winter weather the emergency response was slow and Susan’s injuries were grave: on her right leg her kneecap was ripped off, both her tibia and fibula were fractured and her foot was dislocated.
Once at the hospital, Susan’s leg was saved with surgically implanted titanium rods. “I hoped I would be able to walk again,” she said.
Despite this hope, Susan was told that she could never ride again. As a result of her injury, she had to greatly reduce the number of horses she owned, from 26 to 10. Her summer camp was unable to continue, but the remaining horses were taken care thanks to generous help from previous campers.
In a heartbreaking development, her injury then became worse; the metal rods in her leg broke and the doctors began to talk about amputation. Susan refused to accept that option, but nearly every doctor she saw told her the same thing. She could not walk at all by this point, and spent all of her time in a wheelchair.
Desperate to avoid amputation, she found Dr. Mark Myerson through an internet search. Describing her initial conversation with Dr. Myerson, Susan said, “He was the only doctor who did not talk only about amputation. He promised me nothing except his help.” Susan did not have the option of a traditional ankle replacement because when the rods in her leg broke, the screws had become embedded in her ankle, causing even more damage. (more…)
When Devin Katacinski was just 12 years old he sustained second-degree burns after spilling a cup of scalding coffee on his arm. The coffee immediately took the skin off from the bottom of his thumb to the middle of his forearm.
Here Devin discusses his injury, and recovery, which was thanks in part to a skin transplant processed by tissue bank AlloSource. Devin reflects on how he feels to have received this gift of life from a donor.
Rachel Frank was a typical college athlete: focused, intense, and determined. When a knee injury threatened her ability to complete her final soccer season, she simply played through the pain.
It wasn’t long before Rachel discovered she could no longer “grin and bear” her meniscus injury. She had to have the injured tissue replaced with an allograft – sidelining her for months from any physical activity.
“It was a difficult decision,” recalls Rachel. “But movement is everything to me. I knew I had to have the procedure.”
Today, Rachel is back in competition. In fact, she completed the Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in May 2009, something she only dreamed of prior to her allograft meniscus replacement. Inspired by her experience, Rachel chose orthopedics as her field of specialty in medical school and currently is an MD candidate at Rush University Medical Center.
“As a registered nurse, I have solicited and educated families about organ and tissue donation,” said Margie Mayfield. “However, as a mom receiving this precious gift, it is truly beyond anything I can imagine.”
In 2010, Margie tore her ACL while playing with a child in an inflatable jumping house that she was sponsoring at a church event. Immediately after the injury she was unable to straighten her leg or bear weight on it. Following an MRI that confirmed the tear, Margie decided right away that she would pursue an allograft tissue transplant to repair her knee, if possible.
“I love to bike, play tennis, power walk and swim,” said Margie. “With the injury I was limited. I had a neighbor living with the same injury and I didn’t want to do the same thing.”
However, the gift of tissue donation was not something that Margie took lightly or for granted.
“I was educated in what it means to have donated organs or tissue available, and I trust the system,” said Margie, who works as a parish nurse. “It’s also a faith journey. I want to live my life fully and this offered me fullness and I didn’t want to pass that up.” (more…)
Devin was a typical 12-year-old: an active boy who loved to play soccer and spend time with his friends. Unfortunately, an accident put Devin’s life on pause.
On a Sunday morning at church, Devin was pouring a cup of coffee when the cup slipped and he spilled the coffee on his arm. “When it spilled on my arm, my long-sleeve shirt started clinging to my skin, and my skin was bubbling on my hand,” said Devin. The hot coffee immediately took the skin off from the bottom of his thumb, to the middle of his forearm.
Devin was rushed to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with second degree burns. “They wrapped up my arm, put chemical water on it to cool it and dumped it in a tub, which made it very numb. They also gave me pain killers that put me asleep for a few hours,” explained Devin.
Following treatment at the emergency room, Devin was referred to the Joseph M Still Burn Center at WellStar Cobb Hospital in Austell, Georgia where he remembers noticing that everyone’s burns were so much more severe than his own. Within hours, he was taken into surgery where the doctors removed the burned skin and placed allograft skin on top of it. Allograft skin is a gift of life from a deceased human donor. The days following consisted of a lot of sleep and saltine crackers, but it was the donor skin that really helped in the healing process. The proteins in the donor skin were ideal to help to heal the burn and encourage Devin’s body to regenerate new skin. (more…)
Cameron Chana was the eldest of four children and a born leader, said his mother, Lori. “He led our family into the new areas of family, sports, church, travel, adolescent and teenage relationships and education. He was also truly gifted at developing relationships. As a son, brother, relative or friend, Cameron set the benchmark on caring, supporting and loving others.”
During his high school years, Cameron worked at a pharmacy, volunteered at a hospital and was very involved with the Chana family’s church. He went on mission trips to Seattle, Czech Republic and Dominican Republic and was always focused on kids – helping, guiding and directing them to focus on the positive things in life.
Cameron attended college at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) and became very involved with the Sigma Pi fraternity. He graduated from EIU with a degree in marketing on May 9, 2009, and was accepted into their MBA program to begin on June 15. Tragically, twenty-two-year old Cameron was killed in a bus accident two weeks before he would have started his MBA. (more…)
Tom Cycyota, the CEO of nonprofit tissue bank AlloSource, and tissue recipient Sarah Tomicich, who also works at AlloSource, were interviewed for this important story during Donate Life Month. This is a great reminder that tissue donation can have the same life-saving and life-enhancing benefits of organ donation.
It was the holidays in 2005 and Sarah Tomicich was a young professional excited about her new job in the finance department of a large Denver company. Fun-loving and outgoing, Sarah was happy to offer up her talents for the playful “Stupid Human Tricks” competition at the company’s annual year-end party.
Sarah’s trick was a squirm-inducing move she’d been doing since she was a little girl: rising up on her tip toes, she would rotate her feet until her toes were pointing straight behind her body, with her legs still together. But the trick didn’t go smoothly this time.
“My ankle popped; I thought I broke it,” Sarah said. “The pain was so bad. It was horrible.”
During an initial trip to the doctor, Sarah’s injury was misdiagnosed as a sprain. She went home hoping it would heal on its own. For the next several years Sarah tried to deal with the pain, but her ankle was never the same. The injury began to take a serious toll on her active lifestyle: she could no longer do the things she loved, including skiing and running. She would push herself to play team sports like kickball, but be miserable from the pain for days afterwards. (more…)
We are honored to share this video blog from donor parents Pat and Jay Landers of Springfield, IL. Here Pat and Jay remember their son, Ryan, who was killed in a car accident and became an organ and tissue donor. So far, Ryan’s gifts have impacted 61 recipients in at least 12 states and Korea through 2 organ, 54 tissue and 5 vascular transplants.
Pat and Jay share in their own words what it has meant to them to be a donor family.
We were so pleased to meet this brave donor family via the Gift of Hope organ procurement organization.
Via ESPN: “Boxer Francisco “Paco” Rodriguez told his wife, Sonia, that he wanted to be a hero. But that dream seemed shattered after Rodriguez slipped into a coma and was declared brain dead after losing a title fight in Philadelphia. Through organ donation, his uncle and four women received a gift of life.”
Via the LA Times: Meet Emily Fennell, the 26-year-old California woman who became the first person in the western United States to receive a hand transplant.
Tending to her garden, church activities and spending time with her husband of 28 years, two daughters and six energetic grandchildren are some of the most important parts of Debby Spidel’s life. However, several years ago a worsening spinal condition threatened to overshadow her time doing these things that are most dear.
Debby, a 50-year-old senior human resources generalist from Lebanon, IN, had for several of years suffered from a degenerative arthritic condition in her spine that resulted in constant neck pain. While she saw a chiropractor weekly and the therapy would provide momentary relief, nothing fully eradicated the problem.
As her condition progressed her back pain began taking a greater toll on her body. “I was having numbness in my arms and hands. I had headaches all the time,” said Debby.
Her doctor referred her to an orthopedic surgeon, who gave Debby some serious news: it wasn’t a matter of if she was going to need spinal surgery, but when. Two of Debby’s discs were protruding and pushing on her spinal cord. The surgeon warned her that waiting much longer to have surgery would lead to permanent nerve damage. (more…)
Newsfeed