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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