Donate Life Northwest: 2008 SEMpdx Charity of Choice (Learn More)

Every year, SEMpdx picks a non-profit organization to support both financially & with our collective search marketing knowledge. This year, our charity of choice is Donate Life Northwest, a Portland non-profit that has a mission of “To save and enhance lives through the promotion of organ, eye, and tissue donation.” To help publicize this organization and its mission, I asked Board Member Robert Ayers to talk more about the charity:

1. What is the purpose & mission of your organization?
Donate Life NW (formerly Oregon Donor Program) is a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote organ, eye and tissue donation in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The educational and outreach efforts coordinated by Donate Life NW are aimed towards increasing awareness regarding the importance of becoming a donor such that individuals are inspired to sign up on the online registry located at www.donatelifenw.org.

In the United States there are nearly 100,000 individuals currently waiting for a transplant and one new person is added to the wait list every 12 minutes. Sadly 18 people will die each day due to a lack of donor. These are the folks we continue to work for.

2. Why is it not enough to designate the desire to be an organ donor only on your driver’s license?
Having a “D” or anatomical donor designation on your driver’s license is always recommended, however, this method only demonstrates that an individual has expressed the general intent to donate his or her organs and tissues. This means that in the event of their unfortunate death, professionals from the organ and tissue recovery organizations must first locate their next of kin to obtain permission prior to initiating any recovery operations. This exercise often takes precious time and in many cases leaves the remaining family members uncertain regarding the wishes of their loved one. We always highly advocate that individuals discuss their decision to donate with family and friends for this very reason.

Donate Life NW highly encourages individuals to go online and register at www.donatelifenw.org. This method is fast, easy and secure. While registering, individuals create a login and password that allows them to modify their wishes and designations at any time in their wishes change. Most importantly, registering via the online registry provides a legal first person consent that ensures your wishes will be executed upon your death. If you have joined the registry, professional from the same organ and tissue organizations would then be able to demonstrate to your family that you had already legally consented to become a donor and your wishes would then be honored. The data contained in the registry also serves as a powerful electronic tool that authorized recovery professionals can rapidly access throughout the state at any time in more efficient fashion.

3) What organs might be used in a donation scenario?
There are actually two types of donation that Donate Life NW works towards promoting.

The first major category involves living donation and this incudes the following items:

BLOOD (anyone in good health, 16 years of age or older and above 110 pounds)
BONE MARROW (typically for leukemia patients)
PARTIAL LIVER (liver is only organ that grows back to full size)
PARTIAL LUNG (you can get by with only one lung)
ONE KIDNEY (each person only requires one functional kidney)

The second major category involves nonliving donation. One single donor can save up to eight people with donated organs and also enhance the lives of up to 50 additional recipients with donated tissues. These include the following items:

Tissues:
CORNEA
BONE(often used to treat bone cancer and prevent amputation or help in severe accidents where bone is crushed.
SKIN GRAFTS (used as a biological bandage to help treat burn victims from suffering life threatening infection and dehydration)
HEART VALVES (unlike mechanical valves, donated human valves do no require blood thinning medication that can be dangerous for children and pregnant women. Human heart valves can also grow within children preventing need for multiple surgeries as the child’s heart grows)
VEINS
CONNECTIVE TISSUE (often used for torn ligaments and sports related injuries)

Organs:
KIDNEYS
LIVER
HEART
PANCREAS
LUNGS
INTESTINES

4) How are donor organs matched with those who need transplants?
Unlike many myths or what is often portrayed within TV or movies the allocation of organs and tissues is a highly regulated and fair process. Item that are considered when making decisions regarding who gets what organs are based upon the following.
Medical urgency (the sickest patients closest to death get priority)
Blood type
Geographic distance (many organs cannot survive outside the body long enough to last a cross country flight for example)
Organ size (cannot take a liver from a 300 pound linebacker and plug this into a 3 month old newborn)
Tissue match
Waiting time

Factors that are NOT considered:
Wealth
Social Status
Fame

5) How do you perform outreach to folks in Oregon and Washington?

Speakers Bureau Volunteers give hundreds of presentations to civic, business and school groups each year. Volunteers promote awareness by sharing their personal stories and answering questions. Many of our speakers are recipients, donor family members or those still waiting for transplant. Each story is unique and inspiring.

Student Outreach Donate Life NW sends many speakers to provide in classroom presentations for high school students. During these presentations the material and videos are presented in an age appropriate format targeted towards teenagers. Our organization also provides resource kits and curriculum tools to teachers.

Threads of Life Quilt These quilts are comprised of individually designed squares created by individuals whose lives have been touched by organ, eye, or tissue donation. Presently, there are nine Threads of Life quilts that travel around the region for display. A new quilt is created every year and unveiled in April during National Donate Life Month.

Community Events/Health Fairs Volunteers attend hundreds of community events and heath fairs annually on behalf of Donate Life Northwest to inform the general public about organ, eye, and tissue donation and to motivate people to sign up on the donor registry.

Discover OHSU Donate Life Northwest educates young adults about organ, eye, and tissue donation while these students are visiting the main OHSU campus on an educational field trip. Throughout the school year this program takes place every week on Tuesday through Thursday. For the first half of this compelling one-hour presentation, professionals from the medical community share their expertise on the subject along with a PowerPoint presentation created by Donate Life Northwest. Immediately following, students hear from an individual whose life has been touched by donation.

Department of Motor Vehicles DMV is a critical partner in increasing the number of Oregonians who are designated organ, eye, and tissue donors. DMV staff ask every person over 18 years old who applies for an Oregon driver’s license, renewal or ID if they want a “D” on their license/permit/ID to indicate that they wish to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor. In addition, the DMV field office personnel offer informational brochures in English and Spanish about the Donor Registry. The 15 highest traffic DMV field offices also display an electronic reader board scrolling registry information in English and Spanish.

Community Champions Businesses are enlisted to educate their employees and/or customers about organ, eye, and tissue donation. Many place a link to Donate Life Northwest on their business website. Most community champion businesses set aside a specific time that provides their employees with an opportunity to online and sign up on the donor registry while at work.

National Donor Sabbath All major religions in the United States support organ, eye, and tissue donation. One weekend each November is designated as National Donor Sabbath. Participation by hundreds of faith groups include displaying a Threads of Life Quilt, special education classes about the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation, incorporating information or scripture passages that support the concept of organ, eye, and tissue donation into the service, having an Donate Life Northwest display, putting an insert in the bulletin, and hosting an Donate Life Northwest volunteer speaker, often from within the congregation, and offering members and quests of the congregation the opportunity to sign up on the donor registry.

Annual Golf Tournament Each year in August we sponsor a fund-raiser golf tournament that is a great deal of fun. This year the event is scheduled for both courses of The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club located in Aloha.

Lifesaver’s Breakfast Donate Life NW hosts a breakfast fund-raiser every year in the fall where a keynote speaker is featured who has a link into organ, eye and tissue donation. This is always an uplifting and inspiring event.

Blood Drives We partner with American Red Cross Blood Services to increase awareness of the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation at blood drives. In addition to distributing information brochures and having a Donate Life Northwest volunteer present in the canteen area, Donate Life Northwest high school presentations are coordinated with blood drives to increase awareness of the need for blood.

6) Is there a national organization that serves the same mission as Donate Life NW? For those folks who are not in Oregon and Washington who want to get involved in their community, what can you tell them?

There is a wonderful organization that works to promote organ and tissue donation on a national level. This group is Donate Life America and their web site can be found at www.donatelife.net. Donate Life America works to promote organ, eye and tissue donation as a whole throughout the country. It is then the mission of many regional organizations such as Donate Life NW to manage localized programs and administer systems which allow individuals to sign up to become donors on a statewide basis. If you visit the Donate Life America website there is a search tool that allows an individual learn how to become an organ, eye and tissue donor in any state. Check out https://donatelife.net/CommitToDonation/

7) Please share the story of somebody who benefitted from organ donation.
I know my own story best. Attached is an article from the Oregonian that was written before my transplant. Since my surgery that took place nearly two years ago I have returned to a completely normal lifestyle. My recovery was so successful and amazing that I celebrated my transplant by climbing Mount Adams on the exact 4 month anniversary of my transplant.

You can also check out many other great stories of both local and national folks who have benefited from transplant at the two sites below. Many of the folks who are featured on the national site are actually from Oregon. (John and Tracy) Many of the stories of hope that you find on the national site have both radio and video ads that describe their stories as well.
https://www.donatelifenw.org/stories/
https://www.donatelife.net/StoriesOfHope/

8) How can somebody contribute time and/or money to Donate Life NW?
The first and most important item that an individual can do is register on the web site at www.donatelifenw.org. Discuss your decision to register with your family and encourage them to visit the registry if they wish to become a donor themselves. If someone wishes to contribute financially to our organization there is a section of our web site that allows you to give online. There is another section of our web site that informs you about various volunteer activities and the methods to become involved depending upon your interests In addition, Donate Life NW is always looking for civic organizations, business and church groups who would enjoy a speaker and on site presentation. We also would love to visit your place of business, church or other location to setup and display one of our Threads of Life quilts.