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,” Person said. “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.
“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…)
Each year, in addition to sponsoring a float rider, non-profit tissue bank AlloSource selects two employees, and an executive leader to attend the Rose Parade and experience the Donate Life Float first-hand. Employees compete for the positions with essays describing what participating would mean to them. The AlloSource participants chosen this year, Heather McDowell and Alan Okerman, and executive Olivia Thompson have since had time to reflect on their experiences at the Rose Parade. Their remarks and several personal photos are below.
“How do you express in words all the emotions you feel as you meet and talk with the incredible families that come to the Rose Parade to be a part of the remarkable Donate Life experience? As I reflect back on last week, two groups come to mind: the donor families and the recipients. The donor families are the most courageous, unselfish individuals you will ever meet, sad but truly at peace knowing they have saved and enhanced lives by their generosity. The recipients are the most thankful and grateful individuals, you cannot capture in words their level of appreciation and awe for what has been given to them. All the families I talked to expressed that they are appreciative of what we (AlloSource) do in this incredible circle of life.”
Once again the Donate Life Float was a tremendous success and particularly moving addition to the Tournament of Roses Parade. Check out some excellent photography from the day, done by Scott Weersing.
The Donate Life Float, titled "...One More Day" to remember a loved one, celebrate life, keep hope alive, and make a difference to others.
Susan Cossabone joined the float as a rider to show the nation the possibilities of cellular bone transplantation. Susan was sponsored by tissue bank AlloSource.
The float won the Judges' Special Trophy for outstanding showmanship and dramatic impact.
This week ESPN’s Rick Reilly wrote a poignant story about a handful of athletes who became organ and tissue donors after their deaths, and will on Monday be celebrated with floragraphs on the Donate Life Float in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
Reilly says about the tradition of the float: “It’s a lot for a Monday morning. The Donate Life float feels like both a funeral and a christening, like heartache and heartsong.
It will represent the best of us: the pro fighter Paco Rodriguez, who died in a title bout and whose organs live in five others now; the snowboarding champion Dylan Peters, who was inspired to be a donor when he met Olympic snowboarder and liver recipient Chris Klug; and the Air Force Academy head football manager, suicide victim Marc Henning, whose body was harvested for dozens of tissue grafts, including one to his own mother.
It’s a downer and an upper and a breath-taker all in one. It’s 100 feet of flower- and cinnamon- and split-pea-covered emotion. But it’s helping.
There were 65 million registered donors in the U.S. in 2006. Now there are 102 million. That’s still only 42 percent of 18-and-over Americans, but people are starting to get it: Death can mean life.”
Susan Cossabone set to show the nation the possibilities of cellular bone transplantation in 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade®
AlloSource, a leading developer, processor and distributor of bone and soft-tissue allografts for use in surgical procedures around the world, will this year sponsor a living symbol of the evolving possibilities of tissue transplantation as a float rider aboard the annual Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses Parade®. Susan R. Cossabone, an equine instructor from Egg Harbor City, NJ, was no longer able to ride horses following a devastating car accident. But now Cossabone thrives and rides again thanks to a cutting-edge product consisting of bone and adult mesenchymal stem cells from a tissue donor. On January 2nd, Cossabone will join 27 other riders from around the country on the Donate Life float, now in its ninth year, in a tribute to the millions of people touched by organ, tissue and blood donation.
AlloSource CEO Tom Cycyota said ““We are thrilled to once again sponsor a float rider aboard the Donate Life Rose Parade float as a way to increase awareness about tissue donation, which is still lesser understood than organ donation but can have the same life-saving and life-enhancing benefits. Susan is a symbol of the exciting new ways we can do more with life, thanks to the courageous generosity of tissue donors and their families.”
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.
National Donor Sabbath is a time for faith leaders of all denominations across America to alert their communities to the pressing need for organ and tissue donations to save lives.
It takes place two weekends before Thanksgiving each year, making it November 11-13 this year.
Most major religions practiced in the United States have stated positions on the subject of organ and tissue donation for their congregants. There is general agreement among these religions that this type of donation is an act of charity in support of human life.
If your place of worship would like information about Donor Sabbath, and ways to speak to attendees about organ and tissue donation click here for an informative brochure.
We are excited to see army veteran and burn survivor-turned actor J.R. Martinez bravely putting a public face to the topic of burn treatment, via his starring role on Dancing with the Stars this season. The story of this skin recipient is a great source of hope for other burn survivors around the country struggling with the lasting scars of their injuries.
About J.R. via Dancing with the Stars: J.R. Martinez is an Iraq war veteran, motivational speaker and actor on ABC’s All My Children. In April 2003, at 19 years old, J.R. was serving as a Humvee driver for the U.S. Army in Iraq when his left front tire hit a landmine. He suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns to more than 40 percent of his body. J.R. was immediately evacuated and sent to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio where he spent 34 months in recovery. Since his injury, he has undergone 33 different surgeries, including skin grafts and cosmetic surgery. While in recovery, he started speaking to other burn patients within the hospital, sharing his experiences and listening to theirs. News of his story and efforts to help others quickly spread, first on a local level and then to national circuits, leading to appearances on Oprah, 60 Minutes, CNN and more.
Bilingual in English and Spanish, J.R. has traveled the country since 2004, spreading his message of resilience and optimism. Today he is a sought-after motivational speaker and has shared the stage with many notable individuals. In October 2008, J.R. joined the cast of ABC’s Emmy® Award-winning daytime drama All My Children as combat veteran Brot Monroe.
Allograft skin transplants (skin from deceased tissue donors) are crucial to saving and healing burn victims, as they provide a temporary cover until the wound is ready to accept the patient’s own skin or until the patient’s limited donor sites are available for autografting.
A thought-provoking look at the decision to become an organ and tissue donor. Take a few minutes to watch this somewhat humorous video (which parodies Nike’s LeBron James advertisements) that tackles a serious topic. Compiled by a student group at Ohio State University and Lifeline of Ohio.
The clip stars former OSU football player Dane Sanzenbacher, who now plays for the Chicago Bears.
A great editorial from Slate encourages readers who are looking to honor and celebrate Steve Jobs to help the next Steve Jobs by becoming organ and tissue donors. Two years ago, Jobs got a liver transplant to prolong his life.
Says the article:
Steve Jobs made machines. They’re machines you can type on, or talk on, or listen to music on. He didn’t just tinker with gadgets. He changed what they did. He made machines do what machines had never done before.
But there was one machine he couldn’t fix: his body.
Jobs died yesterday at 56 because of a glitch in his programming. The glitch was cancer. A lot of smart people are trying to fix this glitch in future releases of the human body. But that’s going to take a while. In the meantime, there’s something you can do to help people such as Jobs. You can supply replacement parts for the machines that keep them alive. You can sign up as an organ donor.
Very poignant.
Remember: tissue donation can have the same life-saving and life-enhancing benefits of organ donation.
Donate Life America announced this month that a key goal set by the donation and transplant community in 2006 has been reached: the United States can now boast that 100 million Americans – roughly 42 percent of the adult population – are registered as organ, eye and tissue donors in state donor registries.
We are so excited to announce that AllograftPossibilities is the winner of two marketing awards from the American Association of Tissue Banks, (AATB), the only national tissue banking organization in the United States.
The AATB said:
“AllograftPossibilities is an outstanding example of an AATB member utilizing its marketing budget for the overall betterment of the industry, and public education surrounding tissue donation,” said P. Robert Rigney, Jr., Esq., Chief Executive Officer of the AATB. “The website’s great functionality, approachable design, search engine optimization and more made it a natural choice.”
A big thank you to all of the donor families, tissue recipients, OPO and medical professional partners who have generously contributed their time and shared their stories with us. Without your help this site would not be what it is today.
It is so powerful to see donor families touched by the miracle of organ and tissue donation dedicating their time and effort to promote the cause.
We encourage you to read this story from the Cincinnati Enquirer about Carolyn Henry Glaspy, the mother of former Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry. Following his death in 2009, Glaspy made the decision to donate her son’s organs and tissue. Since then, Glaspy has found a calling to advocate for donation, and minority donation.
She works closely with LifeCenter Organ Donor Network – Greater Cincinnati’s organ and tissue procurement organization for which she’s made 25 appearances in the past year.
From the article:
“I don’t ask for anything,” Glaspy said while sitting in her sparsely furnished, wood-frame house. “I didn’t ask God to take my son so I could make money doing this. It gives me joy in my heart to try to help.”
“There is something beautifully organic and genuine about her,” said Andi Johnson, LifeCenter’s director of public relations. “No event we call her about is too big or too small.”
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…)
TNT’s “Leverage” is one of the few shows my husband and I watch together. The series is about a group of former thieves, hackers and the like who left their sordid pasts behind and now work for the greater good.
I was excited to settle into the couch recently to catch up on a few episodes on our DVR. When we started watching the episode from Aug. 21 I immediately knew I was going to have to take notes.
Within a few minutes of the opening scene in an airport, we see a nervous woman with a cooler. It was clear to me this was going to be about organ donation (as some organs are transported in coolers). I didn’t want a show I loved to be ruined by a bad storyline about donation. “No,” I whined to my husband. “I’m not ready for this.”
I think my apprehension was understandable. As a donation professional, I have seen many TV shows and movies portray donation incorrectly and perpetuate myths. While “Leverage” took some liberties for the sake of the storyline, one message was abundantly clear: the need for organ donors is real.
The episode, called “The Cross My Heart Job,” began in the Cincinnati airport. The “Leverage” crew was passing through on the way home from another job when Nate Ford (the leader of the group) noticed something awry with a woman carrying a cooler. He observed a carefully-choreographed swap of her cooler for another. (more…)
This Chicago Defender article sheds light on the important issue of increasing organ and tissue donation awareness amongst minorities.
In the story, Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele, an African American, shares his own story of receiving a living liver transplant from his sister. After battling diabetes for more than three decades, the transplant gave Steele a new lease on a healthier life.
Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network reports that 2,017 African Americans are on the waiting list for a kidney in Illinois. Additionally, more minorities receive organs than donate.
An important reminder to encourage all people, regardless of race, to register to be organ and tissue donors. You can do so by visiting Donate Life America.
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.
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.
LifeCenter Organ Donor Network worked with the Cincinnati Enquirer to share information about which donors can donate organs, and which can donate tissue.
Specifically, to be an organ donor and person must die in a particular way: they must be “brain dead – register no brain activity in tests. Then the person must stay on a breathing machine to keep oxygen-rich blood flowing to the vital organs.
Next, the person undergoes tests to assess organ function, and organ-donation officials work to find the best recipients for the available organs. The testing and organ-matching process usually takes up to 24 hours. One organ donor can save up to 8 lives.
In addition, up to 50 people may benefit from one person’s tissue donation, with skin, eyes, bones, ligaments and tendons all going to individual recipients. Tissues, unlike organs, do not have to be transplanted immediately, and matching is less specific.”
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