April is Donate Life Month; Register to become a donor
April is Donate Life Month and serves as a reminder to the public to register to be an organ and tissue donor. According to the Iowa Donor Network, organ and tissue donation is a gift that saves and heals hundreds of thousands of lives each year. For transplant recipients and patients on the transplant waiting list, the gift of donation offers a second chance at life; a chance to move forward and fulfill the legacy left behind by the gracious donor.
Over 106,000 men and women in the United States are waiting for a life-saving transplant. That includes over 600 Iowans. One donor can save the lives of up to eight people through organ donation and heal and enhance the lives of more than 300 through tissue and eye donation. Every nine minutes another name is added to the national transplant list and 17 people die each day waiting.
Locally, the Veterans Memorial Hospital staff notifies the Iowa Donor Network of a death and begins the preparation and preservation process to help ensure the most successful donation as possible.
Bailey Estebo, RN, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at Veterans Memorial Hospital, has worked with the Iowa Donor Network locally, multiple times over her 10-plus year nursing career, and highly encourages donation. “In working with the Iowa Donor Network, I have always found them to be completely respectful and grateful for the donations they can collect. While it is so very hard to endure a death, the families are so hopeful that the organs and tissue will live on to help others. It really gives them a sense of peace. I would highly encourage everyone to register to become an organ and tissue donor.”
The easiest way to register is to go to www.iowadonornetwork.org or www.donatelife.net and click on the link to sign up to become a donor. Anyone can also say ‘yes’ to becoming a donor when they receive or renew their driver’s license, or when purchasing a hunting, fishing or fur harvester license through the Department of Natural Resources. The Iowa Donor Network highly encourages all donors to let their family members know about their decision to become a donor.
