LGH team members at the April 13 flag raising event
Many blockbuster movies feature superheroes – but not all superheroes wear capes. Some carry a card, an organ donation card.
Every April 13, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health team members gather to honor organ and tissue donors by wearing blue and green and raising a special “Donate Life” flag at the Lancaster General Hospital flag pole.
Organ donation can be an uncomfortable conversation to have, but it’s an important one,” said John Lee, MD, FAC, a Trauma surgeon at LGH and co-chair of LG Health’s Organ Donation Committee. “By declaring your wishes to be an organ donor, you are giving the gift of life to other human beings.”
Anyone, no matter the age, has the opportunity to save a life as an organ or tissue donor. The Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles helps individuals declare their wishes to be an organ donor by printing the information on their driver’s license.
“Organ donation can become a means to honor those who have passed away by ensuring that generosity saves the lives of others,” said Richard Arbour, MSN, RN, FAAN, FCCM, a clinical nurse specialist in Neuroscience and co-chair of LG Health’s Organ Donation Committee. “It’s a powerful thing to be able to help another patient and their family shift the conversation from organ failure and death to ‘we have an organ for transplant and there’s a good chance you’ll be going home.’”
But right now, the need for organs dramatically outweighs the availability.
“There are about 75,000 people in the United States currently on an active organ transplant waiting list, and more than 7,500 are from Pennsylvania,” said Lee.
Because of the significant disparity between the number of donors and recipient-candidates, approximately 20 people on the wait list die each day. This is why the organ donation committee gathers every year to honor donors and raise awareness on this important conversation.
“A single donor could save eight lives and positively affect hundreds more,” said Arbour. “A single donor on average can provide nearly 31 additional life years for just three organ recipients — that’s a powerful legacy to leave behind.”
Additional information about organ donation and transplantation is available at www.unos.org. Information on organ donation designation on your driver’s license is available at www.dmv.state.pa.us/organ_donor.