Organ donation celebrated at Jacksonville’s HCA Florida Memorial Hospital
April is National Donate Life Month.
HCA Florida Memorial Hospital marked the occasion on Friday by honoring two families of organ donors who saved several lives, and a liver recipient.
At a ceremony in front of the hospital’s main entrance, a liver transplant patient thanked his anonymous donor for a second chance at life.
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And parents who lost their 21-year-old son talked about the importance of donating organs. Their son donated his eyes, liver, both kidneys and his heart.
Memorial Hospital had 24 donors last year who donated a total of 93 organs.
“The most important thing we can do to increase organ donation is to document our decisions by joining the donor registry,” Leah Prendergast, MSN, RN, CNL, Director of the ICU at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital, said in a news release. “In less than one minute, you can make a decision that could save someone’s life. Does your driver license show you’re an organ donor?”
113,000 people are on the national registry awaiting an organ.
For more information about organ and tissue donation or to register your wishes to become a lifesaving donor, visit DonateLifeFlorida.org.
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