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News of Note

Donate Life Month Features Mix of Old & New

Compelling and inspiring stories abound as Donate Life Northwest prepares to present its 12th Threads of Life Quilt and second floragraph in April, National Donate Life Month.

Please join us Sunday, April 18th at 1:00 at Salem Hospital.  The family of organ, eye and tissue donor Bradley Jordan, Jr., whose floragraph image represented Oregon on the 2010 Donate Life American Rose Parade float, will be honored. Thirty-five donor families and transplant recipients are represented on the newest quilt.

Plans for a second quilt and floragraph presentation in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area are underway.  Event details will be available mid-March.

 

New this year to Donate Life Northwest’s April mix is an emphasis on social networking.  Visit our Facebook page, play Scalpel Pal, read and comment on our website blog, watch for our ads on Pandora and Facebook, and chuckle at Mascots on a Mission YouTube videos.  

Volunteer Kudos

Donate Life Northwest would like to recognize the following volunteers for reaching our target audience of 15-29 years old during the month of February!  Let’s keep up the good work and increase the registration rate per event.   

• Margie Waite registered 6% of the students at the Tigard High School blood drive.
• Patrice Hudson registered 4% of the students at the Portland State University blood drive.
• Donna and Geoff Earnest registered 3% the students at the Reed College blood drive.

Meet Your Neighbor:  Patrice Hudson

Patrice uses her inspiring story of being a living donor to motivate community members, particularly students, to register to be organ, eye and tissue donors.  In July 2008 Patrice donated a kidney to her younger sister Bobbi.  Shortly after, she joined our dynamic volunteer team and is now an active member of the Speakers Bureau.   She is always quick to respond to volunteer needs and eager to help – two of the best qualities a volunteer can have!   To learn more about Patrice please read her responses to the following questions:

What do you think is the most important thing for people to know about donation and transplantation?  I want people to know how wonderful it feels to know that you or your loved one have saved or improved a life. As a living donor, the temporary pain and inconvenience of donating [a kidney] were brief compared to the extended life of my recipient. As a family member of the recipient, it is wonderful to see my sister feeling better and stronger, and to know that she is able to enjoy normal life activities without dialysis.

What is your favorite hobby?  I keep busy with my kids, but when I get the chance to be alone I love to write, and to read.  Most of my reading takes place during my daily bus commute. It's harder to find time to write, but I do post occasionally to my blog, http://hudspa.wordpress.com/

What is your favorite book? I have many favorites! My favorite book on the topic of organ donation is "Swimming With Maya; A Mother's Story" by Eleanor Vincent. More generally, I really like "Pavillion of Women" by Pearl S. Buck. It was written in 1946 but was given to me on my 40th birthday, when the book was 55 years old.  Buck's characters share timeless issues of women and family.

What is your favorite music?  You may not guess by looking at me, but I am a huge fan of classic reggae! I enjoyed Bob Marley's music before he died, and broadened my collection tenfold while living in Belize as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the late 1980s.

 

Did you know more than 19,000 Hispanics are on the national organ waiting list? Over 15,000 are waiting for a kidney.  Because finding a genetically compatible match is more likely within one’s own ethnic group, increasing organ, eye and tissue donation among Hispanics is critical.

Donate Life Northwest’s Hispanic Outreach Program is making an impact through registering Hispanics at Latino cultural events, blood drives and conferences. Our Hispanic Outreach Intern, Sandra Rivera, says “I see the need to educate the Hispanic Community about how we can all make a difference in the world we live in.  Organ donation is very important and many Hispanics are not aware of how they can help out... I want to give them the facts and inspire them to register.”  Sandra is involved with several university and high school Latino youth groups and actively spreads the message of the importance of donation registration.

Thanks to KUNP/Univision, our media campaign to reach Hispanic audiences recently included a feature about organ donation on their popular Spanish community evening news program, En Comunidad.  Spotlighting Donate Life Northwest and the moving story of a young Hispanic boy needing a liver transplant encouraged Spanish-speakers to become registered donors.  As we reach out to the Latino community, we find new volunteers and persons whose lives have been touched by the gift of life, sight and mobility. Watch for several new “gift of life” stories on our website featuring members of Oregon’s growing Hispanic community!

Supporting the Mission

Gather for Good with March Madness

We are pleased to announce that Hillside Chapel Funeral Home owners David and Darcey Bone have committed to this year’s golf tournament on August 10th as our Presenting Sponsor! Donate Life Northwest is so grateful for their generosity and commitment to our mission. Corporate partnerships from businesses like Hillside Chapel Funeral Home are critical to sustaining Donate Life Northwest’s lifesaving educational programs.

If you, your employer, vendors or business associates have interest in partnering with Donate Life Northwest, please contact Sara Patinkin at patinkin@ohsu.edu or click here to learn about corporate partner opportunities.