People use their power to donate life

Fort Gordon Signal

Have you met an organ transplant recipient? Is a friend or family member awaiting a transplant? Have you heard about a family who supported their loved one’s decision to donate organs and tissue? This April, during the federally sanctioned National Donate Life Month, LifeLink of Georgia and Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center honor the spirit of those individuals who make transplants possible—organ, tissue and eye donors. The lives of individuals who received their second chance is celebrated - and finally, attention is called to the more than 110,000 - over 3,100 of whom are local - men, women and children who still wait across the United States.

Yul Brown knows all too well about the intense wait for a transplant. A natural leader, Yul continued to serve as a city councilman for McDonough, Ga., while undergoing dialysis to combat the effects of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

“I was tired all the time, but I felt like, ‘bring it on.’ I made it mind over matter.” He took his can-do attitude throughout his community, becoming a volunteer wrestling coach while waiting for his transplant.

“It was another way for me to give back,” Yul says. And after 11 years of dialysis treatments, his ability to continue giving back came from someone else committed to others: an organ donor. “It has been a life-changing experience...the future is bright. I’m still here and hopefully I’m still making a difference. And I am very grateful.”

Another family touched by organ donation is the Wildes family, although their story is very different from that of Yul Brown. Behind the mountain of teddy bears and Amanda Wildes’ ready smile lies “Madeline’s Mission,” a program which delivers teddy bears to children’s hospitals in Georgia. Amanda and Landon founded the project after losing their seven-month-old daughter, Madeline Anne, to bacterial meningitis.

“It’s our hope that through Madeline’s Mission, individuals will realize the importance of organ donation,” says Amanda. By allowing Madeline to become an organ donor, the Wildes helped save the lives of three people. Madeline’s Mission is further testament to the family’s generosity. The bears are given to children waiting for life-saving transplants and other medical procedures.

Organ donation, with the primary exception of living kidney donation, takes place after death and provides the gift of life to tens of thousands each year through heart, kidney, lung, liver, pancreas or intestine transplants. Without the generosity of organ donors, those waiting will die.

“This month we challenge everyone to focus on the lives saved by transplantation and the continued need which grows every day in our communities,” says Kathleen Lilly, Executive Director of LifeLink of Georgia. “Please make a commitment to learn more about donation. One organ & tissue donor can help as many as 60 people. Your commitment today can make all the difference for those in desperate need.”

LifeLink of Georgia is scheduled to host a donor designation station at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center April 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third floor outside of Ike’s Cafe. Stop by and learn more about donation and Georgia’s organ and tissue donor registry.

Another way to become a donor is to sign up on Georgia’s donor registry when you renew your driver license or identification card. Be sure to tell your family about your decision.

Visit www.lifelinkfound.org or call 1-800-544-6667 with questions about organ and tissue donation.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be an organ and tissue donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario at Trillium Gift of Life Network NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today!
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save or enhance the lives of up to fifty people with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants (see allotransplantation). One tissue donor can help by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Organs can save lives, corneas renew vision, and tissue may help to restore someone's ability to walk, run or move freely without pain. Life Begins with You

Georgia Launches New Online Organ and Tissue Donor Registry

By launching an on-line organ and tissue donor registry the state of Georgia joins a growing number of U.S. states and other jurisdictions that have also taken this initiative to help increase the rate of organ donation. To find out how to register in your state go to ShareYourLife.org

Savannah Tribune

LifeLink of Georgia, the non-profit organ recovery agency, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Driver Services and Donate Life Georgia, a non-profit coalition of the state’s organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation programs and other organizations with an interest in organ, tissue and eye donation announce the launch of the State’s new web-based organ and tissue donor registry.

The newly enacted Georgia Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), also known as Senate Bill 405, allows residents to legally designate their wish to save lives as an organ and tissue donor from the comfort of their home by visiting www.donatelifegeorgia. org.

For years, Georgians were required to visit a local driver services office to register as an organ and tissue donor. Registration is still available at the driver services offices but individuals can now also choose to register anywhere that has internet access. Registrations are secure and registered donors will have the opportunity to update their profile or remove themselves from the registry.

“We are thankful to the authors of the Georgia Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act for sponsoring the bill in 2008. It now allows individuals the opportunity to save lives through donation,” said Kathleen Lilly, Sr. Vice President/Executive Director, LifeLink of Georgia. “We also want to thank the Georgia Department of Driver Services for working with LifeLink of Georgia and the donor registry team to facilitate the completion of this important technology.”

Close to 3,000 Georgians are waiting for an organ transplant and hundreds more wait for corneal and tissue transplants which can help restore vision, treat burns and prevent amputations, etc.

To learn more about the Donate Life Georgia Organ Tissue Donor Registry visit http://www.donatelifegeorgia.org or contact Donate Life Georgia at 1-866-57-SHARE (74273).

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant.