18 people will die today while waiting for an organ transplant.
On March 21,2006, my grandfather, John Neloms was 1 of the 18.
April is National Donate Life Month. In honor of this month, I want to introduce you to my grandfather, and tell you his story.
My grandfather suffered from diabetes. Eventually, diabetes decreased his kidney function to the point where a transplant was the only option. He went through all of the tests to ensure that his body was ready to go through the process of organ transplantation. He passed all the tests put before him and was finally added to waiting list in 2005. Unfortunately, my grandfather never received a new kidney. He died suddenly from an unrelated brain aneurysm.
His story does not end here.
According to Donate Life Ohio, only a small percentage of people die in a manner that is conducive for procurement agencies like LifeBanc to harvest organs. In order to be an organ donor you have to be brain dead. Tests must confirm there is no brain activity but your heart is still beating. In other cases, you can still be a tissue donor. When faced with an opportunity to give what my grandfather was not able to receive, we decided to donate my grandfather's liver. Today, there is a man in Michigan who is alive and able to live another day with his family because my grandfather gave him the gift of life.
Nationally there is a shortage in organ donation. Every 13 minutes a new name is added the transplant waiting list, yet willing donors seem to be few and far between. The shortage is even greater in the minority community. Minorities make up only 20% of the US population, yet minorities make up about 50% of the transplant waiting list. This need is even greater for African Americans who make up only 12% of the US population but make up 35% of the transplant waiting list.
According to LifeBanc, Northeast Ohio's organ procurement agency, the minority community is in dire need of organ transplants because some diseases of the kidney, heart, liver, and pancreas are found more frequently in minorities. For example, diabetes and renal disease are found in higher numbers in minority communities than white communities.
In northeast Ohio alone, there are over 1,600 people waiting on a life saving organ transplant. Did you know that 1 donor could save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance up to 50 lives through tissue donation. We have the power to make a difference in up to 58 lives. During National Donate Life Month, I challenge you to make that difference. If you are not a registered organ and tissue donor, you can register at www.doitnowohio.org/kent. If you are registered, I challenge to talk to your family and friends and encourage them to register.
Remember, you are 1 person who holds 58 lives in your hands. Make a difference. Save a life. Be a donor.