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Valentine's Day is National Donor Day
Valentine's Day is National Donor Day, and FOX 9's Tim Blotz highlights an uplifting organ donation story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Valentine's Day also marks National Donor Day, a time to raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation. Each year the number of people needing a life-saving organ transplant outnumbers the availability of organs.
National Donor Day helps shine a light on the need and to honor the individuals and families who’ve made the commitment to donate organs upon their death.
Saving Grace’s life
Grace, a spirited 6-year-old, contracted enterovirus meningitis at birth, which led to myocarditis and eventually heart failure, said her mother, Brittany Johnson.
"There were quite a few times where I didn’t know if we were going to be leaving the hospital with our baby," recalled Brittany. "After so many things going wrong, you don’t feel like there’s much hope left."
Dr. Rebecca Ameduri, a pediatric cardiologist who was on Grace’s care team at the University of Minnesota Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital and now at Mayo Clinic, explained that only a third of children with myocarditis recover fully, while another third require a heart transplant. Grace was one of those children who, at just 2-months-old, was put on the waiting list for a new heart.
"Thankfully, she was able to get a donor heart after only a few weeks and, despite a few setbacks over the years, has really done remarkably well," said Dr. Ameduri.
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Raising awareness for organ donations
Valentine’s Day also doubles as National Organ Donor Day to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donations, and to honor those who have become donors. FOX 9’s Tim Blotz has the story of one boy’s gift to save another.
The waiting list
There are currently 2,541 Minnesotans waiting for an organ transplant. Of them, 113 are waiting for a heart transplant; twelve on that list are under the age of six. The majority of those on the list, 1,955, are waiting for a kidney. Those needing a liver come in at 186.
What we know:
"Families that choose to donate are allowing their loved one to live on," said Dr. Ameduri. "To give that beautiful gift of life to another child or another family, that gives them that opportunity and allows them to honor the hero that that child is."
National Donor Day gives transplant recipients and their families the opportunity to uplift the memory of those who made the donation.
"It’s a way for us to just celebrate them, celebrate their life, to give them the remembrance that they deserve," said Johnson.
What you can do:
Minnesotans can register as organ donors when renewing their driver's license or obtaining a hunting or fishing license. Another option is signing up at www.life-source.org. It’s crucial to share your decision with family to ensure your wishes are honored.