Wednesday, March 28, 2001

State groups raising awareness about organ donation

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com

A number of recent and ongoing events are emphasizing the importance of organ and tissue donation in saving lives and improving quality of life.

"Tell Your Family" billboards are dotting Georgia's roads and highways as part of the Georgia Coalition on Donation's statewide campaign to encourage Georgians to become eye, organ and tissue donors.

More than 450 billboards are up in cities like Atlanta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and Augusta for the next few months.

"The donor shortage in Georgia is critical, and the billboards will serve as a reminder to all Georgians that donation is about giving the gift of life to another person," said Jennie P. Perryman, R.N., Ph.D., chairperson of the Georgia Coalition on Donation.

"Hopefully, the billboards also will serve as a reminder to all Georgians that the best way to become a donor is to discuss your decision with family members so they can honor your decision. If you sign a donor card and don't tell your family, then you aren't a donor."

The campaign has been in the planning stages since the waiting list for those in need of organ transplants at Georgia's transplant centers jumped above 1,000 last year, the highest number recorded since Georgia's first kidney transplant was performed in 1966.

The billboard campaign is a part of a statewide education campaign implemented by the Georgia Coalition on Donation. The campaign includes public service announcements, a college campaign and a religious campaign.

Perryman says that Georgia loses many potential donors each year because family members were not made aware of a person's wishes concerning organ donation.

"At the time of death your next of kin will be asked if you would want to be a donor," said Perryman. "If you haven't had a discussion with your loved ones about your donor decision then they will not be able to convey those wishes for you. If you want to be a donor, be sure to tell you family and ask that they make your wishes known and sign the consent for donation for you at your death."

Georgia is not the only state with a big donor shortage. There are now more than 74,000 people on the national transplant waiting list, and a new person is added to the list every 14 seconds.

But more than 6,000 died while waiting for an organ last year, averaging 16 deaths on the list per day. Hundreds of thousands more are awaiting tissue transplants to improve their quality of life.

Recently, in an attempt to diminish the chasm between the large need for organ donors and the actual number of donors, living donation, with the advent of improved surgical techniques, has resurfaced as a viable option in some instances of kidney and liver transplantation.

The Georgia Coalition on Donation is one of 50 nonprofit local coalitions and 50 national organizations dedicated to educating the public about organ and tissue donation, correcting misconceptions and creating a greater willingness to donate.

For a free brochure and donor card, call 1-800-355-SHARE. For more information, contact the Georgia Coalition on Donation at 1-800-544-6667 or www.shareyourlife.org.

In other recent news concerning organ donation, Governor Roy Barnes proclaimed March 2001 as Eye Donor Month in Georgia, urging every Georgian to give the gift of sight by making the decision to become an eye donor and discussing that wish with his or her family.

A number of members of the Georgia Coalition on Donation and Georgia Eye Bank attended the signing ceremony to demonstrate their support of eye, organ and tissue donation.

Georgia Eye Bank is a nonprofit organization dedicated to being a world leader in eye banking. During 2000, the Eye Bank provided tissue for approximately 1,000 surgeries.

Since its founding in 1961, Georgia Eye Bank has helped restore the sight of more than 23,000 people, offering solace to grieving families by providing an opportunity for something positive to come from the loss of a loved one.

For additional information and donor cards, please call Georgia Eye Bank at 404-264-1900 or 1-800-342-9812.

Getting donor information is becoming easier through new kiosks being installed in driver's license locations across the state by LifeLink of Georgia.

The educational kiosks, each of which resembles a video arcade game, house donor cards, handouts and an educational video that, along with organ donation public service announcements, will play continuously throughout the day at the different locations.

"We wanted to bring the organ donation information directly to the people," said Bobbi Beatty, vice president /executive director of LifeLink of Georgia.

"Everyone who obtains or renews their Georgia driver's license goes through these facilities. Many of these people have additional questions about donation. We have tried to cover the basics and address the most commonly asked questions about this issue in our video and through our handouts."

The four-minute video features testimonials by Gov. Barnes, a transplant recipient, a donor family member, and a supervisor from the Georgia driver's license office.

"Organ donation did help our family in our grieving process when we lost our son Clayton," said donor mother Ann Sechrist. "When I was asked to participate in this video, I became very excited. In addition to my regular volunteer work, which involved speaking to groups about how my son helped more than 40 people through his donation, I have the opportunity to let thousands of Georgians know how important it is to talk to family members about this issue."

The kiosk project, which is one of the largest public educational initiatives about organ and tissue donation in Georgia's history, is funded by the Carlos and Marguerite Mason Trust.

For more information, call 1-800-544-6667 or visit www.lifelinkfound.org.