Help Us Celebrate Donate Life Month

April is Donate Life Month, and we want you to help us celebrate. How? Well, it's pretty simple. If you have not yet registered as an organ and tissue donor, register this month to help us celebrate! Don't know how? Then, please visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here to find out how to register in the state where you live.

HAPPY DONATE LIFE MONTH!!

900 Miles to Save Lives

Richard Gates recently completed a 900-mile bicycle ride to raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation. The journey took Gates from Pittsburgh, PA to Boston, MA where he was met by the doctors and nurses who cared for him when he received his heart transplant almost 10 years ago.

Boston Skyline (Photo credit: brentdanley)

Gates referred to his trip as "Tour de Second Chance" and said he wanted people to understand that he was only able to make the long bike trip because someone had chosen to be an organ donor. He also hoped it showed transplant patients they can lead full lives after their transplant.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, or to learn how to register as an organ and tissue donor in the state where you live, please visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here.

Read more : boston.cbslocal.com article titled "Heart Transplant Recipient Arrives in Boston After 900-Mile Bike Ride"

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and .... Caring

Recently, an Ohio school teacher, Wendy Killan, taught the students and community surrounding Mansfield Christian School a lesson about something more important than reading, writing, and arithmetic. She taught them what it means to care. When 8-year-old Nicole Miller was in dire need of a life-saving kidney transplant, Killan chose to be a living kidney donor for the little girl.

View of Mansfield Christian School from Logan Road. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nicole has a genetic disorder which causes hearing loss and kidney malformation. The disorder also caused Nicole to miss school frequently due to severe fatigue. However, Killan, who was a perfect match for Nicole, stepped up to the plate to help despite the fact it meant going through a major surgery. According to Killan, "Yes, I'm going to be going through a major surgery, but you know, it's only going to be a few weeks of my life, but to this little girl, it is her whole life."

Wendy Killan taught her students one of the most important lessons they will ever learn, when she showed them what it means to care by being a living kidney donor for Nicole. We at the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. believe it may have been the most important lesson of their young lives. Therefore, we applaud her. We would love to see more people do the same thing as the list of people waiting on a kidney transplant continues to grow and grow.

For more information about organ and tissue donation and to learn how to register as an organ and tissue donor in the state where you live, please visit our website at www.SaveLivesTN.org by clicking here.

Read more - article on www.MedicalDaily.com titled "Ohio Elementary School Teacher Gives Life Lesson with Kidney Donation"

Related articles

• Kindergarten Teacher Donates Kidney To 8-Year-Old Former Student (cleveland.cbslocal.com)
• Teacher saves student by donating kidney (cbsnews.com)
• Ohio Girl, 8, Gets Kidney Donation From Teacher (abcnews.go.com)
• 8-year-old recovering after her kindergarten teacher donates kidney (chronicle.northcoastnow.com)

Illinois Mom Turning Lemons into Lemonade to Honor Son

Jill Zuleg experienced every parent's worst nightmare in the fall of 2010 when her son, Kyle, tragically perished in a horrible accident. While on a family camping trip, a large tree branch fell on Kyle while he was playing a game in the woods. However, in the pain of losing her son, Jill found the motivation to make a difference and turn something bad into something good.

Family camping (Photo credit: Wikipedia - PLEASE NOTE that photo is NOT of the the Zuleg family. It is included here for illustration purposes only.)

Kyle was an organ donor who donated seven organs to five recipients. After his death, Jill formed the Kyle Zuleg Foundation. The organization gives memorial scholarships and comfort blankets to the families of organ donors. In fact, the Kyle Zuleg Foundation to date has given out 15 scholarships to high school students helping them to attain their dream of a college education. The comfort blankets the foundation distributes are embroidered with a special message that says "Forever In Our Hearts."

Recently, Jill was one of only five people nationwide honored with the "Inspired Comfort Award" by Cherokee Uniform Company, makers of medical apparel. Realizing that after her son's tragic death she had a choice to make, Jill said, "I had to choose to move forward and take this horrible, horrible tragedy, which I cannot change, and turn it into something positive." She has done just that.

Like Jill, you can make lemonade out of lemons and turn a tragedy into something good. Just visit the website for the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. at www.SaveLivesTN.org by clicking here and register to be an organ and tissue donor.

Read more : article on ChicagoTribune.com titled "Woman Honored for Work Promoting Organ Donation"

Related articles

• National Organ Donor Day (cartridgeworldcampcreek.wordpress.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"

Facebook Launches "Organ Donor" Status on Timeline

Facebook recently launched a new tool that is sure to help promote organ and tissue donation. Furthermore, it's a convenient way to let family and friends know that you have made the conscientious decision to help save and improve lives. If there is a downside to the new tool, it's the fact that it's only available on the new "Timeline" format. If you have not upgraded to "Timeline," you cannot use the "Organ Donor" tool.

Embedded below is a video containing instructions on how to set your Facebook "Timeline" status to "Organ Donor." Furthermore, you can also watch the instructional video, an ABC News story about the launch, and personal testimonies about organ and tissue donation, by clicking here.



Read more : abcnews.go.com article titled "ABC News Exclusive : New Facebook Tool Helps Organ Donors Share Life"

The Benefits of Donating Life

The video embedded below explains the positives of organ and tissue donation from both the viewpoint of a donor family and an organ transplant recipient. It's a very powerful video that can also be watched by clicking here.



Read more - wsls.com article titled "Local Families Stress Importance of Organ Donors"