APRIL: Month for 'noble and meritorious acts'

By DAWN PROSSER
  Director of Communications

On April 8, MercyOne Siouxland held a flag-raising ceremony outside of the MercyOne Professional Office Building downtown Sioux City to mark the start of National Donate Life Month. A press release from MercyOne, a Catholic institution, pointed out that the organization is joining forces with Iowa Donor Network to promote the Inspire Iowa to Donate Life initiative.

“Throughout Donate Life Month, we celebrate transplant recipients who have been given new life. We shine the light on many more who are still waiting and we honor donors and their families,” the release stated.

Although 2023 was a record-setting year for national organ and tissue transplants, MercyOne shared that there are over 100,000 patients waiting for “a life-saving organ transplant.” Iowa Donor Network reports that there are currently 637 of our neighbors in Iowa waiting for an organ transplant.

Iowa Donor Network posted on iowadonornetwork.org several events in the state to raise awareness and encourage organ donations. Events include flag raisings like the MercyOne event, a Celebrate Life Walk in Bettendorf, a trap-shooting event and several give back opportunities through businesses.

April 12 is Donate Life Blue and Green Day where all Americans are encouraged to wear blue and green to promote organ donor awareness.

It’s not only our adult loved ones and neighbors who could be in need of a transplant. April 21 marks the beginning of National Pediatric Transplant Week, with a focus “on the powerful message of ending the pediatric transplant waiting list.”

Heart-breaking testimonials from families whose child transformed lives from the generous donation of organs and tissues are shared on the Iowa Donor Network site.

At any time, a child or adult in your community could unexpectedly be included on the list. Austin Demers of Storm Lake was looking forward to his freshman year at St. Mary High School. That summer he was busy with baseball practice and enjoying time with friends and family.

He was not feeling well and quickly became gravely ill, diagnosed with liver failure and in need of a transplant. Due to the generosity of an unknown donor and family, Demers received a healthy liver. This selfless gift enabled the teen to graduate from high school and then college. Now 30, he works as an architectural designer for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Washington, D.C.

As a way of giving back, his mother, Patti Demers, has volunteered as a speaker for the donor network, sharing Austin’s story and to encouraging others to consider registering as organ, eye and tissue donors.

“We were truly given a miracle and so thankful,” she said. “God has been so good to our family. We were one of the lucky ones.”

The Catholic Church commends the generosity of organ donation for the good of the recipients like Austin.

“Organ donation after death is a noble and meritorious act and is to be encouraged as an expression of generous solidarity,” from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

For Donate Life Month and the Inspire Iowa to Donate Life initiative, the public is encouraged to consider registering as eye, organ and tissue donors. The process is simple – log on to iowadonornetwork.org and click on the link to register as a donor.

You can also answer “yes” to becoming a donor when you renew your Iowa drivers’ license or when purchasing a hunting or fishing license from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Share with your family and loved ones your intention to be a donor at the time of your death.

As we celebrate new life in Christ this Easter season, we can care for one another in a most profound way, by saying yes to giving the gift of life. Join the community of organ donors today.