Posts Tagged ‘organ donation’

When Living Organ Donation Means Living On Through Others

April 29th, 2013 By Emory Transplant Center

Living Organ Donation Donate Life MonthIn recognition of Donate Life month, the Emory Transplant Center was honored to have a very special speaker share an extraordinary story – one that touches the very heart of what it means to give the gift of life even in times of heartbreak.

Scott Haggard shared with Emory physicians and staff the story of his sister, Terri Haggard Wade – a loving 48 year old wife, mother, sister and daughter – who spent her professional career as a nurse.  And as part of the medical profession, Terri knew the importance of organ donation.  As a matter of fact, when her son was learning to drive, Terri said that before he could drive on his own, he would need to register to become an organ donor.

It was March of 2009 when Terri was rear ended in an automobile accident.  She began to experience headaches, and when they continued after a few weeks, Terri decided to go to an urgent care center to be evaluated. The urgent care center sent her to a nearby hospital to have a CT scan of her head.  And that was when they discovered Terri had a brain tumor.

On April 15, 2009, Terri had surgery to remove her tumor.  The surgery was more complicated than anticipated, and Terri did not wake up immediately after the surgery.  After ten days, Terri still had not awakened and her intracranial pressure spiked to very high levels, causing brain death.

At this time, Terri’s medical team approached her family asking them to make a very difficult decision.  They had to decide whether or not to allow Terri’s organs to be donated – they knew she wasn’t really with them anymore.

“We were never going to have Terri,” said Scott, “but to have her be able to help others, even in death, meant everything to us”.

To honor Terri’s wishes, her organs were donated, saving lives as she had done so many times before as a neonatal intensive care nurse at Egleston.  Terri was very loved among many – over 700 people were present at her funeral.

Although Scott knows that the individuals who received his sister’s organ are grateful for their gift of life, he says “It also means a lot to us, the donor family, to know that Terri is able to live through others”.

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Atlanta: Celebrate Organ Donation with us in April!

April 9th, 2013 By Emory Transplant Center

Donate Life Month LogoApril is when we as a nation recognize National Donate Life Month. To celebrate the gift of life and organ donation here in Atlanta, Emory is hosting a number of activities and events. We take this time to honor organ donors, the families who make the crucial decision to donate a loved one’s organs, and the relatives, friends and others who donate living donor organs to transplant recipients.

Here are the activities we have planned during Donate Life Month:

• Thursday, April 18, 2013 — Swing Easy, Hit Hard Charity Golf Tournament

Book your favorite foursome in this benefit golf tournament and support the Emory Transplant Center and Georgia Transplant Foundation. Event info and registration > 

(Kirk Franz, the recreation manager for the city of Johns Creek, and his family and friends first organized the Swing Easy, Hit Hard Charity Golf Tournament in 2010 to support his transplant fund. He had a lifesaving liver transplant at Emory to treat cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer. Now that he is fully recovered from his transplant, he and his family (pictured below) organized a nonprofit foundation to continue hosting the event annually to benefit other transplant patients at Emory and at Georgia Transplant Foundation. The foundation helps patients like Franz raise funds for escalating medical expenses following transplantation, which the organization matches up to $10,000 in the first year post-transplant. Last year’s golf tournament raised more than $2,000 each for the Emory Transplant Center and Georgia Transplant Foundation.)

• Friday, April 19, 2013 — Blue and Green Day

Donate Life Month, Blue & Green Day

Flaunt your best blue and green and show your support for Donate Life’s efforts to register individuals as organ, eye and tissue donors. Wear blue and green or decorate your office or join the day’s Facebook event page. Make sure you post your pictures on our Emory Transplant Center Facebook page, too!

You can also learn more about Blue and Green Day on the Donate Life website.

• Week of April 22 – 26, 2013 — Emory Donate Life Week

Look for information tables with staff and LifeLink of Georgia volunteers answering questions about donation on Monday and Tuesday during lunch hour outside Emory University Hospital’s Asbury Court and in the mornings on the walkway between Emory Clinic buildings A and B.

This month also gives us an opportunity to recognize and thank our neuroscience and critical care colleagues dedicated to caring for patients at the end-of-life who are potential donors. They lovingly work with donor families during a stressful point in their lives. In addition, we commend the staff that work with individuals who make the decision to become a related or non-related living donor. The donation process can be a catharsis for these donors and families, who help make renewed lives possible through transplantation.

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Donate Life Month – Pros & Cons of Organ Donation

April 1st, 2013 By Emory Transplant Center

Since 2003, April has served as National Donate Life Month and provided the health and transplant communities with an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help support and raise awareness around organ donation.

Currently more than 115,000 men, women and children are awaiting organ transplants to save their lives. They’re in need of hearts, kidneys, livers, lungs, and other organs which can all be transplanted if donors were available, giving them a second chance at life. Understandably, potential donors may have reservations about organ donation, but we’ve compiled a list of pros and cons to help you with your decision of the gift of life.

Pros:

  • ONE organ donor can save up to EIGHT lives. There are nearly 115,000 men, women and children waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S. By registering to become an organ donor, you can help save lives!
  • For the transplant recipient, it is a second chance at life. For some, an organ transplant means no longer having to be dependent on costly routine treatments to survive. It allows many recipients to return to a normal lifestyle.
  • For the family of the deceased donor, they feel a sense of goodness that came from a tragedy – that if the organs are transplanted into a young, deserving person, then their loss was not in vain. Donor families take some consolation in knowing that some part of their loved one continues in life.
  • Living Donation – It is possible to donate organs while you are still alive. Living people can donate a kidney, portions of the liver, lung, pancreas and intestines, as well as blood, and go on to live healthy lives. Most often it is relatives who do living tissue donation. It is possible, however, to register for completely humanitarian reasons and give organs to a stranger.

Cons:

  • Families might be confused by the fact that donor bodies are often kept on life support while the tissues are removed. Surgeons do not remove any tissues unless the person is brain dead, but they sometimes put the body on a ventilator to keep the heart pumping fresh blood into the tissues to keep them alive long enough to harvest. This is not the same as life, but there is a moment when the ventilator is removed and the heart stops.
  • Another “con” might be that the donor does not usually get to choose who the organs go to, and perhaps an organ will go to someone of a different faith, political viewpoint or temperament than the donor. The donor has to believe that all life is sacred and that anyone who receives the “ultimate gift” of a donor organ will be grateful and be imbued with a sense of gratitude and a desire to pay it forward.

To become a donor and for more information visit Donate Life today.

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Help Us Honor Nurse Allison Batson and Her Gift of Life – Vote Today!

September 4th, 2012 By Emory Transplant Center

Nurse Allison Batson, Patient Clay Taber

Nurse Allison Batson with Clay Taber

Every once in awhile, you meet someone so special that they become part of you forever. For 23-year-old Emory kidney transplant patient Clay Taber, that person is Allison Batson – literally.

A few months ago, we told you the story of a transplant nurse at Emory University Hospital, Allison, and her selfless donation of one of her kidneys to Taber last January, a gift that likely saved him months on dialysis — if not his life. Allison and Clay met when he was an inpatient at Emory University Hospital fighting a rare disease called Goodpasture’s Syndrome, a life-threatening autoimmune disorder characterized by kidney disease and lung hemorrhage. Allison saw more than a patient in Clay.  She saw her own children, all close to Clay’s age.

“I learned more about Clay, his family, his life, what he saw for his future,” Allison recalls. “He wanted to get married to his sweetheart. He’d just graduated from college. The whole world was his, with the exception of this incredibly rare illness that hit him out of the blue. I have children his age, and I felt the same kind of pain his mother was feeling. Something inside me said I needed to do more.”

Though Clay’s blood type is rare, Allison was tested to be a donor and proved to be a match. On Tuesday, January 10th, Allison’s kidney was removed and transplanted into Clay’s body. Nearly half a year later, Clay has recovered well, even finding a weekend in June to marry his college love.

Though Allison has never asked for special treatment or even a hint of recognition, her colleagues recently submitted her profile to Johnson  & Johnson’s Amazing Nurses Contest. She was selected as one of 10 finalists. Voting is now up to the public. If Allison wins, she’ll receive a trip for two to Los Angeles to attend the 2012 CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute live broadcast show, courtesy of CNN.  Though a trip to sunny LA is quite a prize, Allison has a bigger gift in mind.

“I am once again humbled by this nomination and very excited to be recognized,” says Allison. “But more than that, my hopes for this contest are that it will spread the word about the Living Donor program.  There are more than 90,000 Americans on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. That’s 90,000 too many. Relatives, loved ones, friends and even strangers can give this lifesaving gift.”

To vote for Allison, visit http://www.amazingnurses.com. Voters can cast one vote per day until Sept. 28. The winner will be announced December 2 at the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute live broadcast.

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Donate Life Month “Thank You” from Joe Persichetti

April 19th, 2012 By Joe Persichetti

Joe Persichetti transplant patient
Dear Donor Family,

It has been eight years since my life saving heart transplant, and once again, I want to thank my donor and donor family for the gift of life.

I suffered my first of three heart attacks at age 40, and for eighteen years I struggled with heart disease. At age 58 my heart was failing and I was told that I would need a heart transplant to live. I was put on the on the transplant list and waited at home for four months. Waiting and not knowing if the call would come in time. At that point I did the only thing I knew how to do, pray.

When the call did come that there was a heart for me, all I could think about was that someone I never met was going to save my life.

I never imagined that I would enjoy this quality of life. I am using my new life to bring awareness to the importance of organ donation, and mentoring others who are waiting for a life saving transplant. I am determined to give back and celebrate life in honor of my donor.

My family and I are always thankful for each day we have together. I am playing golf and enjoying life to its fullest. I truly must say that my greatest joy is the time I spend with my seven grandchildren. As I hold them close to me I am grateful I have the chance to watch them grow. They are the joy of my life and I am truly blessed.

As always your family and my donor are in my heart and daily prayers forever.

There is no greater gift then the gift of life you shared with me.

Sincerely,
Joe

 

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Donate Life Month “Thank You” Message from Terri Lynne

April 9th, 2012 By Emory Transplant Center

Terri Lynne

“My donor was an 11 year old girl from Arkansas; that is all I know of her but not a day has ever gone by that I haven’t thought of her. Words will never begin to explain enough what has been given to me.


I believe I was given more than just a liver; I have her legacy. Even if I don’t know her name, her existence and memory is alive in me. My liver isn’t just an organ to me; it is a part of her.”

 

You can share Terri’s story here.

If you haven’t signed up to become a donor yet and are needing more information, please visit Donate Life.

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“Whatever Doesn’t Kill Me Had Better Start Running!”

February 29th, 2012 By Emory Transplant Center

Terri Lynne Transplant Patient & Dr. Dodson Transplant Surgeon

Terri Lynne giving her medal from the GA Transplant Games to her transplant surgeon, Dr. Dodson

Georgia native and Douglasville resident, Terri Lynne was born with a rare disease called Tyrosinemia, it is a genetic disorder characterized by elevated blood levels of the amino acid tyrosine, a building block of most proteins.  Terri’s disease caused her liver cancer that led to a liver transplant at the age of 13.   As a child, Terri had her transplant at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and was performed by Emory’s Dr. Thomas Dodson, who started the pediatric liver transplant program in 1990.  Terri was only the 8th pediatric liver transplant in Georgia.  It’s been 20 years since Terri’s transplant, and she feels it is important to give back to the transplant community. So much so, in fact, that when Terri visits the Emory Transplant Center for her own appointments, she frequently shares her story and answer questions for people who are just beginning their own transplant journey. It’s her mission to let others know that even after undergoing a transplant, there are no limitations in what they can do.  In Terri’s case, she set not a long-term goal, but rather a long distance goal, to participate in her first marathon after receiving her transplant.

In her first attempt in making strides towards her goal, Terri signed up to run in a 400 meter race at the GA Transplant Games- but she was unable to finish the race.  That’s when Terri made it her mission for the next year to run the whole thing. She began taking baby steps towards her long distance goal in 2006 when she says, “I ran the first mile ever in my life and I couldn’t stop.”

Terri chose the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007 as her ultimate test.   “The final push for me to sign up came when a fellow transplant friend dared me to do it.  He told me he would shave his head if I ran the whole thing. Given my transplant and medical history, I wasn’t sure if I could do it but I wanted to find out.”

Terri finished the marathon in 6 hours and 6 minutes.

Now, when Terri visits the Emory Transplant Center and passes the inspirational photos of transplant recipients that have always graced its wall, she has something to celebrate.  “One of them is of me; I am crossing the finish line of that marathon.  A Marine gave me my finish medal; I gave him a hug and started crying, I couldn’t believe it. Sometimes, I still don’t believe it.”

And despite her improved health, Terri continues to visit the Emory Transplant Center, both as a patient and an ad hoc advocate who is always willing to share her story and inspiration with other patients on her own visits.  “I have been going to Emory and Egleston since I was two years old; it is all I have ever known.  In the last three years I have had some issues with my liver and kidney numbers. It can be scary sometimes, but my coordinator Dianne [Dianne Thackston] has been very understanding, compassionate and has helped me deal with it. I wouldn’t trust my care to anyone but Emory!”, says Terri.

And in the true spirit of giving back in the way she was given to, Terri even donated one of her own medals from the GA Transplant Games to her surgeon, Dr. Dodson.  “I wanted to surprise him. I made him close his eyes, put the medal around his neck and said, ‘I won this for you’. It was a small way of saying thank you for saving my life and being able to do that made my day.”

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A Not So Standard New Year’s for Dr. Nicole Turgeon

February 10th, 2012 By Emory Transplant Center

Dr. Nicole Turgeon, Emory Transplant

Dr. Nicole Turgeon

Just before New Year’s Day of 2012 you couldn’t find Dr. Nicole Turgeon, Emory kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon inside Emory Hospital walls as she normally is. Instead, Dr. Turgeon was taking time out of her holiday schedule for a cause she really believes in– organ donation. Dr. Turgeon jetted off to Pasadena, CA on December 29, 2012 to help decorate the Donate Life float for the Rose Bowl Parade.

“Although a small gesture, I wanted to pay tribute to the families who so selflessly give the gift of life to others,” she says of the experience. “I have seen the float on TV over the past several years and had wanted to participate. I was able to make it work this year with the incredible support of my family.”

Each year for the past six years, Donate Life has decorated a Rose Bowl Parade float with flowers. This year’s parade had the theme, “Just Imagine…,” and was viewed by millions of people at the event and on national television.

The Donate Life float had floral depictions of clock towers of the world, and six of the towers had 72 floral portraits memorializing deceased donors. The clocks were animated and rotated to mark the Donate Life theme, “One More Day,” and to recognize the value of time. Leading the float was a dedication garden honoring thousands of organ, eye and tissue donors and recipients nationwide, with roses in vials that had personalized messages. Twenty-eight transplant recipients, living donors or family members of donors rode on the float during the Rose Bowl Parade.

The Donate Life float had floral depictions of clock towers of the world, and six of the towers had 72 floral portraits memorializing deceased donors. The clocks were animated and rotated to mark the Donate Life theme, “One More Day,” and to recognize the value of time. Leading the float was a dedication garden honoring thousands of organ, eye and tissue donors and recipients nationwide, with roses in vials that had personalized messages. Twenty-eight transplant recipients, living donors or family members of donors rode on the float during the Rose Bowl Parade.

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