The lives one can give
Apr. 14—ASHLAND — On Monday, a group gathered outside of King's Daughters Medical Center to recognize those who have given the Gift of Life through organ donation.
Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) Partnership Service Liaison Trish Sacconni spoke at the event, and said KODA is and organ procurement organization.
"We are the team that goes in and actually recovers the Gift of Life," she said. An individual who signs up to be an organ donor, Sacconni said, can potentially save up to eight lives.
"Today we are taking a moment to pause and reflect," Sacconni said. "We call it Pause for Life, and we are doing this nationwide. We are doing this to remember the 108,000 people who are currently on the waiting list to receive an organ donation. And we are going to pause to remember the 20 people who will lose their lives today because there is not an organ available to save them. And we are going to pause and have one minute and eight seconds of silence to remember that each person who donates can save up to eight lives.
"And we are going to pause to remember that we can make a difference in our own lives and the lives of others through organ and tissue donation," she added.
Sacconni said that there are certain criteria that needs to be followed, and that is followed with each potential donor to see if they are suitable to become a donor.
"We have a whole team that goes in to verify if a particular patient qualifies to become a donor," she said. But the beginning of the process, she said, is simple. Those who are interested in becoming donors can sign up to become a donor when the go to their local county clerk's office to renew their driver's licenses or ID.
"They will ask you that question when you renew your license, and record your answer," Sacconni said. "Or, you can go to the website donatelife.org and register there. And you can also register on your smartphone through a health app."
The information goes to a national registry, she said, and whenever they have a referral, they check both the national and the state registry.
Sacconni said she likes to think of being an organ donor as being able to rewrite the end of someone's life story.
"The end of their life story might be gloom and it may be that they are not going to be able to survive without that life-saving organ. But if through organ donation I can rewrite that and offer them a new story, then I want to do that," Sacconni said. "And I would challenger everyone to do the same."
Sacconni said she is grateful to KDMC for taking part in the national event, and making the local event possible.
"They have been a wonderful partner and have been amazing at moving donation forward in this community," Sacconni said.
Scott Hill, Executive Director for Community Engagement and Pastoral Care at KDMC, spoke about how important the event was to the community.
"It's amazing when you think how one person can save eight lives," Hill said. "In my 28 years here I have seen over and again how people selflessly give their most precious gifts. And in those years, I have seen absolute and total compassion and sympathy. And having personally worked with families through the organ donation process, I have seen our wonderful staff show that compassion, support, and professionalism.
"And when you think about the patients, you recall their faces and their stories," Hill said. "This is a small community, and we are close to them. And then you think about the absolute selflessness of the decision that they made to be an organ donor so that they may be a blessing to other families, it is phenomenal. So today we remember those who gave their most precious gifts, who did something truly amazing and heroic, and have given so much to help others."
