‘Save as many as 8 lives’: If you’re not an organ donor, ask yourself why

Right now, nearly 600 Kansans need life-saving organs. According to Donate Life Kansas, thousands more are waiting for tissue or corneal transplants to improve their quality of life.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires that all hospitals have an agreement with a designated Organ Procurement Organization. Lawrence Memorial Hospital has chosen Midwest Transplant Network, a federally certified nonprofit. CMS also requires hospitals to have an agreement with a designated eye and tissue procurement agency. LMH has chosen Saving Sight for eyes and Midwest Transplant Network for tissue.

April is National Donate Life month. LMH has several activities planned to educate the community and increase awareness.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital is a major sponsor of WellCommons.

About donors

• Everyone can be a registered donor regardless of age, race or medical history.

• All major religions support organ, eye and tissue donation as your final act of love and generosity.

• A commitment to donation never interferes with medical care. Saving your life is top priority if you are sick or injured.

About donations

• Donating life is a gift. Neither you, your family or estate will incur any costs for your donation.

• The donor agency will notify your next of kin of your decision at the time of your death, facilitating a discussion about your social and medical history.

• To make sure your gift will safely help others in need, the hospital and donor agency will assess your potential to help others at the time of your death.

• Your body will be treated with care and respect throughout the donation process.

• Open casket funerals are possible for organ, eye and tissue donors.

• It is unlawful to buy or sell organs or tissues for any reason.

About recipients

• Donations go to those who need it most, typically at the local level first, then the region and finally all over the country.

• For those awaiting an organ transplant, matching is determined by blood type, illness severity, time spent waiting and other important medical information.

About registration

• To keep your donor registration current, please say “yes” each time you obtain or renew your instruction permit, driver’s license or ID card.

• You may remove your name from the registry or change your gift specifications at any time.

• You can donate life even if your name is not included in the registry. Your agent, next of kin, guardian or designated person can act on your behalf to make the gift.

• Share your donation decision with your loved ones.

— Source: donatelikekansas.com.

“If you’ve been to LMH lately, you will note our green ribbons and bows at our entrances,” said LMH Emergency Department Clinical Coordinator Elaine Swisher, who also is the hospital’s Donate Life chairperson. “Green is the color of life. We do this yearly to draw attention to the need for donation and to promote public awareness that April is Donate Life.”

To honor donor heroes, Midwest Transplant Network and Saving Sight, along with a group of donor families and recipients, will host a panel discussion on donation from 9 to 11 a.m. April 28 in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium. This will be followed by LMH CEO Gene Meyer dedicating the fountain near the hospital’s cafeteria to the cause by turning the fountain water green at 12:30 p.m. on the same day.

Additionally, Midwest Transplant Network and Saving Sight will host an informational booth from noon to 2 p.m. that day outside the LMH cafeteria to answer questions about donation.

“We would love to have lots of folks from our community join us at all events,” Swisher said.

Rob Linderer, CEO of Midwest Transplant Network, said: “This month serves, not only to honor the lives of those who have given and received, it is also an opportunity to renew our commitment to saving lives, and increase awareness for the gift of organ and tissue donation.”

Here are some facts to consider:

• 124,000 people currently are waiting for a life-saving organ in the United States.

• Every 10 minutes another name is added to the national waiting list.

• An average of 21 people die each day due to lack of available organs for transplant.

Because of eight tissue donors and 28 cornea donors at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in 2015, more than 456 lives were touched. An organ donation can save up to eight lives; tissue donations can improve up to 50 lives; and cornea donation can renew vision for up to two people.

“By joining the Kansas Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, you can make a powerful difference for individuals and families in need all across the state,” Swisher said. “In fact, by saying yes to organ and tissue donation, you can save as many as eight lives and improve countless more. It’s a fast and easy gesture, but it means so much for so many.”

LMH recently was awarded Saving Sight’s 2015 Excellence in Eye Donation Award recognizing the hospital for achievements in providing the gift of sight to those needing a transplant last year. This marked the second time LMH received the honor.

In 2015, staff at LMH helped to facilitate 28 eye donation cases, which resulted in 34 individuals receiving restored sight through a cornea transplant. Overall, the hospital achieved a 65 percent consent rate for eye donation.

Tony Bavuso, CEO of Saving Sight, said, “We applaud Lawrence Memorial Hospital for empowering others to give the gift of sight and for striving to create a culture that supports donation. Thanks to the generosity of eye donors and their families, and the staff at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, more people than ever were able to receive a sight-saving cornea transplant last year.”

Each year around 48,000 individuals in the United States require a cornea transplant to restore vision that has been lost due to disease, disorder or injury. With the help of hospital partners like LMH, Saving Sight provided corneas for more than 3,000 of those transplant surgeries in 2015. For more information on becoming an eye, organ and tissue donor please visit donatelife.net.

Becoming a donor is easy:

• When renewing your driver’s license ask to become a donor.

• Sign up through the Midwest Transplant Network website, www.yestheywantme.com.

In 2010, Kansas adopted into law the “First Person Authorization.” When a person signs up to be a donor that becomes the person’s authorization for donation. The family does not have to make the decision since the person has already designated they want to be a donor.

— Janice Early, MBA, is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, a major sponsor of WellCommons. She can be reached at janice.early@lmh.org.