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Home > News
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| Friday, November 12, 2010
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Contact: Holly Martin
Media Specialist, RMH Corporate Communications
540-564-5887
Kay Harrison, vice president, RMH
Business Development (left), meets
with Turner Ashby High School
student Maddie Shinaberry. At an
event Nov. 11 honoring families of
tissue and organ donors at RMH,
Harrison shared the story of
making the choice to donate a
family member's tissue. Shinaberry,
who received a double lung
transplant in 2009, shared her story
with those who attended.
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RMH will fly the Donate Life America flag during the National Donor Sabbath, Nov. 12-14, in tribute of the life-giving contributions of organ, eye and tissue donors.
The Donate Life America flag will fly in place of the RMH flag during this observance. The goal of the nonprofit organization Donate Life America is to educate communities about the need for organ, eye and tissue donors.
There are more than 108,000 people on the organ transplant waiting list in the U.S. and thousands more who wait for corneas and tissue, according to Donate Life.
“The National Donor Sabbath is observed two weekends before Thanksgiving with the hope individuals will be filled with the compassion to donate life,” said Robin Martin, RMH chaplain. “All major religions in the United States support organ, eye and tissue donation and see it as the final act of love and generosity toward others. The National Donor Sabbath is a time to draw attention to the faith and hope that are vital to the donation process.”
RMH partners in the donation process with LifeNet Health, the federally-designated organ procurement organization for most of Virginia. LifeNet coordinates the recovery and placement of organs in Virginia, teaches the public about donation and handles a bereavement program for donor families.
In 2010, RMH received LifeNet’s second-place Tissue Donor Award for hospitals in its service region, which includes most of Virginia and parts of West Virginia and North Carolina. LifeNet also recognized a separate category of hospitals that had both tissue and organ donors.
“We wanted to make sure that we would give the proper recognition to smaller hospitals that have little to no organ potential but support the donation process through tissue donations,” said Britta Cruz, manager of hospital development, LifeNet Health.
The award was given for the 2009 calendar year. RMH had a total of 10 tissue donors in 2009. Since 2001, more than 85 people have become tissue donors at RMH, and three have become organ donors, according to Dana White, regional hospital development coordinator, LifeNet Health.
“RMH does not experience a high number of eligible candidates for organ donation,” said Brenda Hedrick, RN, nurse coordinator. “However, tissue and eye donation is frequently a more viable option for individuals and families in our area.”
One donor can save as many as nine lives through organ donation, enhance more than 50 lives through tissue donation and restore sight to two people through eye donation, Hedrick noted.
RMH recognized the families of recent tissue donors in a private remembrance event Nov. 11, at which the national Donate Life America flag was raised over the campus.
Lung transplant recipient, Maddie Shinaberry, age 15, was one of the featured speakers at the event. Shinaberry is a junior at Turner Ashby High School.
“I am alive today because of the generosity of a family like yours,” Shinaberry told the families in attendance. “Every day I am reminded of just how precious life is and how important it is for me to live my life to its fullest. Each day is a blessing and I am so grateful for this second chance at life.”
To find out how to become an organ, eye and tissue donor, visit www.DonateLifeVirginia.org.
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