A Powerful Gift - African americans and organ, eye and tissue donation

THE STORIES OF ORGAN DONORS AND ORGAN RECIPIENTS SHARE A COMMON THEME, THE LIFE-SAVING NATURE OF ORGAN DONATION AND WHAT A POWERFUL GIFT IT CAN BE. TODAY, MORE THAN 111,000 PEOPLE ARE WAITING FOR AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT THAT WILL SAVE THEIR LIVES, AND NEARLY 30% OF THOSE WAITING FOR AN ORGAN ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN. THAT’S MORE THAN 32,000 PEOPLE, PEOPLE LIKE ESSIE WILSON. SHE AND HER HUSBAND TYRONE WERE TAKEN BY SURPRISE WHEN ESSIE’S DOCTOR DISCOVERED HER KIDNEYS WERE FAILING. I HAD A VERY BAD HEADACHE, AND I WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND WAS TOLD THAT MY BLOOD PRESSURE WAS AT STROKE LEVEL. BLOOD TEST WAS DONE, AND FOUND OUT THAT MY KIDNEYS HAD 10% FUNCTION. I WAS ADMITTED TO A HOSPITAL AND HAD A BIOPSY. THEY TOLD ME RIGHT THEN I WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A TRANSPLANT AFTER DIALYSIS. I JUST LOST MY MOTHER, AND THEN WHEN SHE STARTED TO GET SICK, IT WAS LIKE, "OK. WHAT’S GOING ON? "YOU KNOW, I KNOW I’M A GOOD PERSON. WHY DO THESE THINGS HAPPEN TO ME?" YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT WE GO THROUGH WHEN WE LOSE A LOVED ONE. I DIDN’T KNOW ANYONE THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD A TRANSPLANT. I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT ALMOST ANY ORGAN CAN BE TRANSPLANTED, AND IF IT MEANT SAVING ONE’S LIFE, YOU KNOW, I WAS ALL FOR IT. ESSIE WILSON WAS PLACED ON THE ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST, A FRIGHTENING PROPOSITION BUT ONE THAT COULD OPEN THE DOOR TO A NEW LIFE. GLORIA BROOKS WAS ALSO ON THE WAITING LIST FOR AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT, BUT UNLIKE ESSIE, SHE NEVER SAW HER ILLNESS COMING. - IT HAPPENED SUDDENLY. I WAS NOT ILL AT ALL AT ANY TIME UNTIL MY LIVER FAILED, SO I WAS IN A COMA FOR APPROXIMATELY 6-8 WEEKS. WHEN I WOKE UP FROM THE COMA, I WAS TOLD THAT I NEEDED A TRANSPLANT AND THAT I HAD RECEIVED A TRANSPLANT. AND I FELT THAT NO ONE TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED A LIVER, THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY LIVER, AND HOW DARE THEY TAKE MY LIVER AND GIVE ME SOMEONE ELSE’S? THAT WAS MY INITIAL RESPONSE BECAUSE I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND. GLORIA’S CONFUSION QUICKLY SHIFTED TO FEELINGS OF GUILT, GUILT THAT SHE WAS STILL ALIVE AND HER DONOR WAS NOT. AND IT WASN’T UNTIL I MET SUZI AND HER FAMILY, AND SHE WALKED UP TO ME. I JUST LOOKED AT HER, AND WHEN I LOOKED AT HER, I REALIZED THAT "IT’S OK, IT’S OK." ALL THAT TIME, I WALKED AROUND THINKING, "LORD, WHY AM I SO WORTHY?" - AND I KNEW THAT THERE WAS A PURPOSE FOR ME TO MEET HER. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT. WE HAVE SINCE BEEN ABLE TO SHARE WONDERFUL OCCASIONS TOGETHER. SHE ACTUALLY SURPRISED MY DAUGHTER BY COMING TO MY DAUGHTER’S WEDDING AND DANCING WITH HER FOR THE FATHER’S SONG. - THIS PRICELESS GIFT FROM THE EAKLES FAMILY SET GLORIA’S LIFE ON A DIFFERENT PATH. UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHOICE NOT TO DONATE IS MADE EVERY DAY, OFTEN BECAUSE OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND MISCONCEPTIONS SURROUNDING ORGAN DONATION. MOSTLY, IT’S RELATED TO FEAR. TO SOME PEOPLE IT’S RELATED TO CONCERNS ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE AND THAT THEY’RE GOING TO NEED THEIR ORGANS IN THE AFTERLIFE. AND I WOULD EMPHASIZE THERE ARE 5 REASONS WHY SUCH A LOW ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION RATE, AND THEY WERE... LACK OF INFORMATION; RELIGIOUS MYTHS AND MISPERCEPTIONS, NUMBER TWO; THIRD, A LACK OF TRUST OF THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS; FOURTH, A BASIC FEAR THAT IF I SIGN A DONOR CARD THAT I WOULD BE PREMATURELY DECLARED DEAD; AND FIFTH, RACISM. IN A HOSPITAL THAT’S 95% BLACK, 80% OF THE DONORS FOR OUR BLACK PATIENTS WERE WHITE. MORE THAN 1/3 OF THE WAITING LIST IS AFRICAN AMERICAN OR OTHER MINORITY, AND ONLY ABOUT 1/8 OF THE DONOR POPULATION IS OF THAT SAME MINORITY CLASS. AS MINORITIES, MAKE UP 25% OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION. BUT ON TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST, WE REPRESENT 50% OF THE PEOPLE WHO NEED TRANSPLANTS. RECOGNIZE AND UNDERSTAND THAT RACISM IS NOT THE ISSUE. ESSIE CONTINUED TO WAIT FOR A KIDNEY, AND HER CONDITION WORSENED EVERY DAY. I HAD BEEN TESTED SEVERAL TIMES. I CALLED TO THE CLINIC, DO A BLOOD TEST, AND I’D BE--THEY’D LET ME KNOW WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS A MATCH. WE HAD THESE LITTLE PAGERS BACK IN ’86, AND WHEN THE PAGE WENT OFF, IT WAS THE HOSPITAL, AND SHE SAID, "OK. THAT’S THE HOSPITAL CALLING." AND I SAID, "WELL, YOU NEED TO CALL THEM BACK." ESSIE ORIGINALLY WENT TO THE HOSPITAL TO UNDERGO TESTS. INSTEAD, SHE WAS IMMEDIATELY ADMITTED. BY THE TIME HER FAMILY GOT WORD AND ARRIVED AT THE HOSPITAL, ESSIE WAS BEING WHEELED INTO SURGERY. AT FIRST, THE SURGERY APPEARED TO BE A SUCCESS. ESSIE’S BODY BEGAN TO FUNCTION WITH HER NEW KIDNEY, BUT COMPLICATIONS SURFACED. SO DOCTORS CHOSE TO PUT HER INTO A DRUG-INDUCED COMA TO LET HER BODY HEAL. WHEN THEY PUT HER IN THE COMA, I SORT OF LOST IT. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I WOULD STAY UP AT THE HOSPITAL, AND I WOULD COME IN HERE, AND I WOULDN’T ANSWER THE PHONE. I’D JUST STAY IN THE HOUSE UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK THE NEXT DAY. TYRONE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL EVERY DAY TO BE AT HIS WIFE’S SIDE. FINALLY, ESSIE RECOVERED SUFFICIENTLY FOR DOCTORS TO BRING HER OUT OF THE COMA, AND WHEN SHE OPENED HER EYES, SHE COULD SEE THE START OF HER NEW LIFE. I WOKE UP, I SAW MY MOTHER AND SISTER, AND I SAID, "HEY! HI, MOM!" AND I SAID, "I’VE ONLY BEEN HERE 3 DAYS, AND I DON’T FEEL SORE." AND THEY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AGAIN AND SAID, "SIS, YOU’VE BEEN HERE FOR TWO WEEKS." IT WAS A RELIEF. I KNEW THEN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD LIVE A NORMAL LIFE BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE COULDN’T DO AT THE TIME BECAUSE OF HER DIALYSIS, A LOT OF PLACES WE COULDN’T GO THAT WE WANTED TO GO. SO WE JUST HAD TO TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME. FOR ESSIE AND TYRONE, THE TRIAL WAS FINALLY OVER BECAUSE SOMEONE HAD THE COURAGE TO DONATE A LOVED ONE’S ORGANS SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE. THIS GIFT WAS NOT BY CHANCE. IT WAS A CHOICE, A CHOICE THAT JANON MALONE FACED SUDDENLY ONE EVENING. - I LOST MY HUSBAND. WE HAD BEEN MARRIED FOR 3 YEARS AND 9 MONTHS, AND AT THE TIME, IT WAS A WEEK BEFORE MY DAUGHTER’S FIRST BIRTHDAY. I WAS LEFT WITH A ONE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER. I HAD NOT PLANNED TO BE A SINGLE PARENT, SO I HAD TO RETHINK MY ENTIRE LIFE THROUGH IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. - WHILE HER HUSBAND LINGERED IN A COMA, JANON NEVER GAVE UP HOPE THAT HE COULD SURVIVE, BUT AFTER 4 DAYS OF WAITING AND PRAYING, HE QUIETLY SLIPPED AWAY, AND JANON REALIZED SHE HAD A DECISION TO MAKE. - MY HUSBAND AND I, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT BEING A DONOR FAMILY, WHICH MADE MY DECISION A LOT EASIER. IT WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION, BUT IT STILL MADE IT A LOT EASIER CONSIDERING THAT I HAD JUST LOST SOMEONE THAT I LOVED SO DEARLY. I WOULD NOT CHANGE MY DECISION NO MATTER WHAT. THAT WAS A DECISION THAT HE MADE AND HE ASKED ME TO CARRY OUT. HE WAS A GIVING PERSON, AND SO THE FACT THAT HE-- WE DONATED HIS ORGANS IS IN LINE WITH HOW HE GAVE WHEN HE WAS ALIVE. - STATISTICS SHOW THAT THERE JUST AREN’T ENOUGH JANONS TO GO AROUND, ENOUGH FAMILIES WHO MAKE THE DECISION TO DONATE. APPROXIMATELY 18 PEOPLE DIE EACH DAY WAITING FOR AN ORGAN. TOO OFTEN FAMILIES DON’T UNDERSTAND OR REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF ORGAN DONATION UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE. - WHEN YOU DO AFTER STUDIES ON FAMILIES, THE FAMILIES THAT DONATE HAVE LASTING SOLACE, AND WHEN YOU SAY, "WELL, IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND," MORE THAN 1/3 WOULD HAVE CHOSEN TO DONATE IF THEY HAD IT TO DO OVER. - BUT THERE IS HOPE. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF DONATION HELPS CREATE NEW STRATEGIES TO HELP US ADDRESS AND OVERCOME THESE ISSUES, AND THAT EFFORT STARTS WITH DISPELLING MYTHS AND SHARING FACTS. - AND HERE AGAIN, THE EDUCATION IS CAPABLE OF OVERCOMING THAT FEAR, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL OBSTACLES OF ALL. - OFTEN, THE BEST AMBASSADORS FOR INCREASING ORGAN DONATION ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY IT, PEOPLE LIKE ESSIE, GLORIA, JANON, AND SUZI. - IN EVERY INSTANCE, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT SOMEBODY, EITHER SOMEBODY WHO’S A DONOR FAMILY MEMBER OR SOMEBODY WHO’S WAITING FOR A TRANSPLANT OR SOMEBODY WHO’S RECEIVED A TRANSPLANT, THEY ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE MESSENGERS. I DIDN’T SAY THAT THEY’RE THE ONLY ONES, BUT THEY ARE WITHOUT QUESTION THE MOST POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE CHANGE AGENTS FOR THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THEY RESTORE THE CREDIBILITY THAT WAS MISSING, THE TRUST THAT WAS MISSING, AND SO THEY MAKE IT EASY FOR US TO CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR THAT PEOPLE HAD SAID BEFORE WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE. - THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS OF THOSE WHO HAVE DONATED OR RECEIVED AN ORGAN, THE ONES WHO STOOD BY AND GAVE THEIR LOVED ONES HOPE AND SUPPORT, CAN ALSO HELP INCREASE DONATION BY SHARING THEIR STORIES OF HOPE. - THERE’S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO’S NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ORGAN TRANSPLANTS. THAT’S WHY I ENCOURAGE HER WHEN THEY ASKED HERE WOULD SHE LIKE TO SPEAK, YOU KNOW, AT DIFFERENT VENUES AND TELL HER STORY. I SAY SURE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE PRIOR TO HER, MAYBE LIKE A LOT OF FAMILIES, I WASN’T AWARE OF IT. YOU KNOW, SO, THAT’S WHY I SAY WHEN PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF HAVING TRANSPLANTS, I ALWAYS TELL MY WIFE’S STORY. I LIVED THROUGH HER STORY. BECAUSE IF YOU GET THROUGH TO ONE PERSON, THEN YOU’VE SAVED A LIFE, AND I JUST THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW. IT REALLY IS. - SOMEONE MADE A GREAT SACRIFICE FOR ME, AND YOU CAN MAKE THAT SACRIFICE, TOO. YOU COULD BE SICK ONE DAY, AND YOU WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO HELP YOU. THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE. THAT RIGHT THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH. IT WOULD CAUSE THEM TO THINK. "I COULD BE SICK ONE DAY, AND I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO MAKE A SACRIFICE TO SAVE MY LIFE." - BECOMING A DONOR IS EASY. MORE THAN 111,000 PEOPLE ARE WAITING AS OF JUNE 2011, PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES ARE ON HOLD UNTIL SOMEONE MAKES THE DECISION TO DONATE. - WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF MOST RELIGIONS? IT’S GIVING OF YOURSELF, IT’S SHARING LOVE. IT’S IN GIVING, YOU GET BACK, AND SO SIMILARLY, WITH TRANSPLANTATION AND IN DONATION, IT IS THE RIGHT AND PROPER THING TO DO BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT OUR LIVING IS ALL ABOUT IS THE SHARING OF LOVE, THAT REDEMPTION COMES WHEN AT THE END OF YOUR LIFE YOU GIVE SO THAT MAYBE A HUNDRED PEOPLE CAN GET YOUR ORGANS OR YOUR TISSUES AND HAVE THEIR LIVES ENHANCED. 10 PEOPLE CAN HAVE THAT SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE BECAUSE OF THIS WONDERFUL GIFT THAT YOU LEFT BEHIND. FOR THAT SUCCESSFUL TRANSPLANT, YOU KNOW YOU’VE JUST CHANGED SOMEBODY’S LIFE, AND THERE’S NO BETTER FEELING THAN BEING ABLE TO SAY I DID THAT. - THE PEOPLE WHO WAIT FOR AN ORGAN ARE JUST LIKE YOU AND ME-- THEY LONG FOR A FUTURE FILLED WITH LOVE AND HOPE, A FUTURE THAT BEGINS WHEN SOMEONE MAKES THE DECISION TO DONATE A HEALTHY ORGAN. LEARN THE FACTS AND REGISTER TO BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR IN YOUR STATE TODAY. VISIT ORGANDONOR.GOV.