Edition:
April 11, 2008
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The Friday Flyer Editor
April is National Donate Life Month and residents are invited to join the Canyon Lake Heart to Heart team for the Donate Life 5K/1K Run/Walk in Fullerton on Saturday, April 26, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The run/walk begins at 9 a.m. and a Family Health Festival begins at 10 at Memorial Grove on the Cal State Fullerton campus, 800 State College Blvd.
Canyon Lakers Peter and Jayne Stanyon, who lost their daughters, Kirsty and Hollie, in separate car accidents, established the Heart to Heart Foundation, which seeks to bring awareness of the need for organ and tissue donation. Funds raised will benefit the Donate Life Registry.
To register online for the Heart to Heart Team, go to www.donatelifeoc.org/register.php. The cost is $23 and includes the event activities and a T-shirt. For more information about the run/walk event or to make a donation, contact Ronale Rhodes at 244-9368, or e-mail ronaletucker@yahoo.com.
Because of the outpouring of support Peter and Jayne received after the death of their youngest daughter, Hollie, in a car accident, they decided to start the Heart to Heart Foundation in honor of both daughters’ memories.
After learning about how many people Hollie’s organs and tissues helped, Jayne was inspired to sign up as an ambassador with OneLegacy, a transplant donor network based in Southern California. Part of her work includes speaking at high schools regarding the subject of organ donation. With that beginning to take much of her time, Jayne says Heart to Heart will not be doing its annual fundraising gala at the Lodge next fall. Instead, she and her “teammates” from Canyon Lake are promoting this run/walk and using it as an opportunity to, once again, remind Canyon Lakers to consider what they will do when death becomes a reality for them or their loved ones.
The following information from OneLegacy.org is provided to help readers make an educated decision on this subject.
The need is critical
An organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people facing dire illness, while a tissue donor may save or enhance the lives of as many as 50 people. Californians can register their wishes with the state-authorized Donate Life California Registry at www.donatelifecalifornia.org.
Because transplantation is still a relatively new and evolving science, it is understandable that people create and spread rumors about donation. Here are 10 of the most common misconceptions and the reality behind them.
1. If I am in an accident and the hospital knows that I want to be a donor, they won’t try as hard to save me. Reality: The medical team treating the patient is completely separate from the transplant team. The transplant team is not contacted until the patient has died and the family has consented to donation.
2. They’ll take out my organs before I’m dead.Reality: Brain death – that is, when the brain dies due to lack of blood and oxygen – is a medically, legally and morally accepted determination of death. In California, two licensed physicians must independently make the diagnosis of brain death before the potential donor’s family is presented with the opportunity to donate.
3. My body or my loved one’s body will be mutilated.Reality: The body of the donor is treated with great respect throughout the process. Donated organs and tissue are removed surgically in a routine operation similar to abdominal surgery. Donation does not preclude an open-casket funeral.
4. Only famous and wealthy people get organ transplants.Reality: The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the nation’s transplant centers manage the waiting list, which includes each potential recipient’s weight, height and blood group. Priority depends on many factors, including urgency of need, length of time on waiting list, blood type and size compatibility. Race, gender, age, income or celebrity status are never considered when organs are allocated.
5. My religion does not support donation.Reality: All organized religions support donation, typically considering it as a gift from the heart and a matter of individual choice.
6. My family will need to pay for the procedure.Reality: A donor’s family is not charged for any procedure, test or medical supplies associated with the donation process. From the time of consent, all costs are paid by OneLegacy.
7. I am too old to be a donor.Reality: Donors can range in age from several weeks to 75 or older. Also, senior citizens may inspire others in their family to consider donation.
8. My health problems would prevent me from being a donor.Reality: Many of today’s donors have pre-existing medical conditions. The patient or specific organs or tissue may be ruled out based on a detailed medical evaluation.
9. The recipient will know who I am.Reality: Information about the donor is released to the recipient only if the family of the donor requests it. Otherwise, the strictest confidence of patient privacy is maintained.
10. If I donate, my funeral will be delayed.Reality: The only delay would be if the Coroner wishes to examine the body, in which case, he might delay the mortuary proceedings.
Register to be a donor
According to a recent news article, nearly 95,000 people in the United States are waiting for a new organ and about 20 percent of them live in California. Anyone can choose to request that his or her organs and tissues be donated at the time of death and the Department of Motor Vehicles is making it even easier.
Californians can automatically join the Donate Life California registry by checking a box when they renew or apply for a driver’s license. Don’t want to wait until then? One can sign up by going to donatelifeCalifornia.org. A participant’s decision to join cannot be overruled by surviving family members.
OneLegacy doesn’t limit its life-saving message to adults. Ambassadors like Jayne understand that young people can have strong opinions about helping other people. Hollie did.
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