We are pleased to introduce our 2011 Tournament of Roses Donate Life float rider
In 2006 Parker Simpson was an active teenager, ambitious academically and involved in a number of sports including football, lacrosse and wrestling. It was that year, as a high school sophomore, that a sports injury to his ankle soon landed him on the doctor’s table. Parker discovered that he had developed osteomyelitis, a staph infection of the bone, in his tibia and fibula. But he couldn’t have foreseen that this was the beginning of a trying medical journey that would test the resolve of both him and his family for years to come.
Parker was faced with possible amputation of his leg several times as a result of the infection. A successive back injury was further complicated due to the existing illness in his bones. He underwent numerous operations to combat the ankle and back afflictions, resulting in a fused ankle and foot, and yet his young body was just beginning its battle to survive. Read more
Run for Life Honors, Celebrates and Recognizes those waiting for Lifesaving Transplant
Donor Alliance hosted its signature event, the Donor Dash — a 5K run/walk to honor those who have given the gift of life, celebrate those who have received the gift of life and recognize those still waiting for a transplant. The Donor Dash was held at Washington Park in Denver July 18th.
The Donor Dash began in 2000 and has since evolved into one of the largest road races in the state of Colorado. More than 3,200 people and nearly 90 teams participated in this year’s event. Several hundred volunteers staffed the event. The generous support of 13 financial sponsors and 20 companies and organizations who hosted booths in the race expo, helped offset the cost of this year’s event. Read more
This Sunday, July 18th, the Donor Dash will be taking place in Denver, Colo. and we encourage you to join to show support for all of the organ and tissue donors and recipients in our area. In its 11th year, the Donor Dash is a 5K race and event that has become a well-known and treasured Denver event, bringing together and honoring those who have been affected by organ and tissue donation. Click here for more information on the race, or to sign-up to join the cause.
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Frank Bodino, President of Transplant Speakers International, called attention to the importance of tissue donation this week in the company’s newsletter. The newsletter also features the moving story of Manuel Salazar, a quadruple amputee who received life-saving allografts from AlloSource. To read more about tissue donation and Manuel’s story, check out the newsletter here.
Reminder: April is National Donate Life Month. It is a great time to reflect on the miracles made possible here at AlloSource thanks to generous donors and their courageous families. Because of their decisions to register as donors, each day we are able to save and enhance the lives of patients in need: providing allograft skin to patients who are severely burned, generating fresh articular cartilage allografts to promote joint restoration for patients who have suffered disease or trauma, processing live cellular bone growth substitutes for patients with broken bones or spinal fusions, and so much more.
Although still lesser understood than organ transplantation, approximately 1.5 million tissue transplants are performed each year. Celebrate this Donate Life Month by reading some of our touching stories of donor families and tissue recipients. Their chronicles truly bring to life the miraculous possibilities of tissue donation.
And please remember, if you’re not already a donor, register to become one. And pass the word on to your friends and families.
Sincerely,
Tom Cycyota
When helping was critical, the AlloSource team sprang into action.
AlloSource is one of the largest suppliers of allograft skin for burns in the nation. Burn skin is central to our mission and helps us play a part in saving people’s lives each and every day.
We service major medical centers in our core communities as well as in other communities across the nation and AlloSource is first to get the call when a crisis event happens. On January 26 we got the call again.
U.S. Air Force C-130 airplanes landed in Tampa, Florida last week with severely burned survivors of the Haitian earthquake inside. The patients were immediately transferred to Tampa General Hospital, one of our large allograft burn skin customers. The procurement coordinator at Tampa General was looking for all the skin that we could provide them to cope with their immediate and future needs. Tampa has implemented their disaster plan for burns and is now working around the clock on surgeries in the burn center.
Immediately the AlloSource team sprang into action releasing 55 square feet of skin. Read more
AlloSource was proud to earlier this month once again be involved with the Donate Life Rose Parade float, this year entitled New Life Rises. The float is an annual tribute to the millions of people touched by organ, tissue and blood donation. AlloSource sponsored a float rider from Colorado: Manuel Salazar, a 29-year-old quadruple amputee survivor of a horrific construction site accident, who now thrives thanks to his indomitable spirit and donated allograft tissue.
Several employees accompanied Manuel and his caregiver CoCo to Pasadena. They all were touched by the emotional and inspiring event; a few of their stories:
“What a wonderful experience. The reception dinner was very emotional. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the donor families. The strength and courage they have is truly amazing. Having them all gathered at a dinner was really something. You could feel the emotions in the air. Read more
Witness the power of tissue donation go full circle with inspiring stories from donor families and tissue recipients More
Discover the latest research on allograft tissue and updates from AlloSource More
Join nurses around the country in allograft education and inspiring patient stories
