Mega Doctor News
There are currently 104,619 men, women and children on the organ transplant waiting list in the U.S., per the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), with another name added to the roll every eight minutes.
Organ transplantation, considered one of the great advances in modern medicine, offers a new lease on life for people of all ages living with life-threatening conditions that impair the function of vital organs and put their lives at risk.
Additionally, transplantation of tissue like corneas, tendons and bones can help enhance the lives of patients by restoring sight, movement and other physical functions.
Every donor can save up to eight lives and enhance 75 more, per the Health Resources and Services Administration, making organ donation a life-giving, life-enhancing gift.
Despite the importance of organ donation, the demand far exceeds the available supply. Sadly, 16 eligible patients die each day waiting for an organ to become available. The only way to overcome the organ shortage is to encourage more people to become organ donors.
“Some people may not fully understand the value of organ donation and that’s why Donate Life Month is so important,” says Krystal McCloud, MSN, RN, CCRN, Interim Assistant Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Nursing, Intensive Care Unit, South Texas Health System McAllen. “It gives the community the chance to hear the personal stories of those who have contributed to and benefitted from organ donation.”
To raise awareness of the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation, South Texas Health System hosted its first of three Donate Life Month commemorations on Wednesday, April 2. Consisting of a candlelight vigil in the main parking lot of STHS McAllen, the event allowed organ donor and recipient families to gather and honor those who have given patients in need a second chance at life.
“I don’t think people know how life-changing organ donation is,” says Michael Anaya, who underwent years of dialysis before finally receiving a kidney from a donor in October 2020. “Thanks to James [donor], I was able to graduate high school. I am now learning how to drive and do so much of what I love to do.”
Fellow speaker Don Uecker, who was married to his wife Darlene for more than 20 years before her passing in December 2011, discussed his wife’s decision to be a donor and how one of her corneas and tissue helped improve the lives of more than 200 people across the nation.
“I am just so happy to know that she has helped numerous people,” says Don. “Through her selflessness, she has not only saved lives, but she has changed lives.”
Held in partnership with the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA) and the Texas Donor Network, the vigil also featured a flag-raising ceremony where Michael and Don raised a commemorative Donate Life flag signed by the family of a 69-year-old STHS McAllen patient who opted to be a donor prior to his passing. An honor walk was held for him at the facility moments before the Gift of Life candlelight vigil was held.
“Unfortunately, Hispanic communities like the Rio Grande Valley face serious challenges when it comes to registering organ donors. While Hispanic individuals are a sizable portion of the population needing organ transplants, they are underrepresented as organ donors, with cultural beliefs, religious views and misinformation about the process among the reasons that Latinos don’t register,” says Tom Castañeda, System Director of Marketing & Public Relations, STHS. “By hosting events like these, we can help dispel the myths surrounding organ donation and get more people to register.”
The awareness campaign is working. Since the start of the year, STHS McAllen has helped fulfill the wishes of sixregistered donors and helped save at least 16 lives.
To continue to momentum and inspire others to register to become organ, eye and tissue donors, STHS will be hosting two more flag-raising ceremonies later this month. The first will take place on Wednesday, April 16 at STHS Edinburg at 10:00 a.m.; the second will be held at STHS Heart on Tuesday, April 30, also at 10:00 a.m.
For more information on the events, visit the STHS Facebook events page.
To learn more about becoming an organ donor or to register, visit donatelifetexas.org.
