Volunteering Life

Tennessee is known as "The Volunteer State" for a reason - Tennesseans give and give and give. Back in July, Amy Rye gave new meaning to the state motto as she volunteered life to a fellow Tennessean in dire need of help.

A hemodialysis machine, used to physiologically aid or replace the kidneys in renal failure (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rye was a living kidney donor to a family acquaintance by the name of Jerry Clark. Jerry first found out he had a problem when an eye exam revealed a ruptured blood vessel in the back of one of his eyes. Things slowly deteriorated from there until he spent over a year on dialysis with kidney function of only 22% at the time of his transplant.

Within two days of his transplant, Jerry's kidney function was back to normal. He no longer has to spend nine hours a day on dialysis and says, "... Amy has given me my life back. Her unselfishness and willingness to give is really special. It takes a special person to do something like this."

For more information about organ and tissue donation, please visit the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation's website by clicking here. While there, you can also learn how to register as an organ and tissue donor in the state where you live. One day, you could be a life-saving volunteer like Amy.

Read more :TheLeafChronicle.com article titled "Organ Donation Gives Life Back to Erin Man"

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• Racing: Gase family meets recipient of late mother's organ donation (thegazette.com)

Sorrow Turned to Joy

Transplant recipients and their donor families always cherish the first time they meet face-to-face. For the recipients, it provides an opportunity to personally say "Thank You." For a donor family, they get to see firsthand the difference that their loved one made in the recipient's life. Oftentimes, those special moments give the donor family the joy and peace that they've been wanting ever since their loved one passed away, because they see that their spouse, parent, child, sibling, etc. is living on.

Please watch the special video embedded below (can also be watched by clicking here) of a donor mom meeting her son's heart recipient for the first time. Donor family / recipient meetings show how grief can quickly turn into joy. These special moments are the reason the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc., and others, work so hard to promote organ and tissue donation.

If you would like more information on organ and tissue donation, including how to register as a donor where you live, please visit the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation's website by clicking here.

WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi

Read more : TheStir.CafeMom.com article titled "Devastated Mom Hears Dead Son's Heartbeat in Medical Miracle"

Related articles

• The Benefits of Donating Life (savelivestn.blogspot.com)

N.Y. Yankees to Promote Organ Donation

Tomorrow night, the N. Y. Yankees will help promote organ donation. 24-year old Colby Salerno will throw out the pitch before the Yankees' game with their arch rival - the Boston Red Sox. Salerno is a little more than two months out from receiving a life-saving heart transplant.

English: Stadium of the New York Yankees (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During his hospitalization, Salerno received a call from Yankees' Manager Joe Girardi. Girardi called on behalf of the team to see if there was anything the Yankees could do for him. Salerno's response was to ask the team to help promote organ donation. So, tomorrow night not only will Salerno throw out the first pitch, each fan entering the stadium will receive information about organ and tissue donation and an announcement will be made during the game encouraging fans to register as donors.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, please visit the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation's website by clicking here. Also, be sure to visit Colby Salerno's blog, Tales from the Tenth Floor, by clicking here. On his blog, he writes about his experience with organ donation.

Read more : www.connecticut.cbs.local.com article titled "Transplant Patient in Ceremony at Yankee Stadium"

Indiana Woman Celebrates 20-Year Transplant Anniversary

Rensselaer City Hall (Photo credit: J. Stephen Conn)

TODF congratulates Lynda Edwards of Rensselaer, IN on recently celebrating the 20-year anniversary of her kidney transplant. Her sister was her living donor, and her gift had a big impact on someone besides Lynda - Lynda's daughter,  Courtney. Courtney is so grateful and believes in the miracle of donation and transplant to the point that she went to work at the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization.

There are currently over 114,000 Americans awaiting life-saving organ transplants. For more information about how you can help, please visit our website by clicking here.

Read more : wlfi.com article titled "Woman Celebrates 20-Year-Old Organ Donation"