Emotional life-saving stories as NH marks Donation Month
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Apr. 17—CONCORD — Michele Decoteau of Mason said she and her husband, Kevin, never discussed organ donation with their son, Dan, 39, who died from injuries after falling off his motorized skateboard and sustaining a traumatic brain injury in 2021.
The couple were glad they decided to donate organs on Dan's behalf, which wound up saving four lives.
Michele Decoteau said listening to her son's donated heart beat in the chest of Gary Swain of Marblehead, Mass., left a lasting impression on her after they met at Greeley Park in Nashua on Mother's Day 2022.
The couple often had brought Daniel to play in the Nashua park when he was young.
"The people who receive these donations, they are always so positive, so grateful. It just really warms your heart knowing that while it was a difficult decision, it was the right one," Decoteau said in an interview Wednesday.
Gov. Chris Sununu and Division of Motor Vehicles Director John Marasco led the celebration of April as Organ Donation Month during a ceremony in the Executive Council chambers.
Currently, 55% of New Hampshire motorists "check the box" on their driver's license to become an organ donor, which is higher than the national average for states.
National registry officials have a goal of 52%.
But Sununu said he is determined to bump the numbers higher during his final months in office.
"This is such a simple thing that can do so much good for those who are desperately waiting for organs," Sununu said.
New Hampshire is on the cutting edge of research into regenerative medicine, which includes replacing or regenerating tissues, cells and organs.
Sununu: 'Check the box'
"This program, the check-the-box, still remains the core way to do this, our best way to get everyone to agree to donate life," Sununu said.
Last year, Marasco got a change in rules and laws so that once someone in New Hampshire joins the donor program, they remain on it for life unless they choose to come off the list.
In the past, motorists had to sign up every time their license came up for renewal.
While driver's license renewal is a common way to sign up, anyone can do it at any time at the national registry registerme.org.
"I'm going to put that button (hyperlink) right on my website," Sununu said. Marasco added it would be up on the DMV site as well.
"People think, 'Hey, I'll do that when I renew my license in 2029 or something like that,' but you can do it right now."
In December, Kelly George of Enfield will celebrate the 15th anniversary of receiving a donated heart after learning at 44 that she needed a transplant to survive.
Since then, she has gotten to enjoy her 40th wedding anniversary, her oldest son receiving his master's degree, the birth of a granddaughter, and last week a total eclipse of the sun.
"Would I have been around to experience those things? Only in the hearts and memories of my loved ones," George said.
Alex Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services (NEDS), said enrollment in New England's donor registry is up 52% since 2020.
"There's a real urgency for those patients who are waiting," she said.
Donations in New England have gone up for three years in a row.
Last year, deceased donors gave organs that resulted in 1,401 life-saving transplants.
By donated volume, NEDS is the fourth-largest organ procurement organization in the country.
"Today is about hope and it's about gratitude," Glazier said.
