April is recognized as National Donate Life Month. This observance has been celebrated every year since 2003 when it was established by Donate Life America and its partnering organizations. National Donate Life Month (NDLM) aims to spread awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation and honor those who have given the gift of life. Kara Cordell serves as Marketing and PR Manager for “Live On Nebraska” based in Omaha. She shared with KCNI/KBBN news the mission behind the organization.
“Live on Nebraska is an organ procurement organization which is a fancy term to say that we are the organization in Nebraska that facilitates deceased organ and tissue donations so if someone passes away it’s our job to evaluate that individual to see if they have the potential to help others through tissue and organ donation and then, something that we take very seriously, is also being a resource for the donor’s family and helping them through that difficult time in their lives. As well as educating the public about organ and tissue donation and encouraging donor resgistration.
Cordell said the impact that one person can have as an organ / tissue donor may surprise you.
“I think that’s something a lot of us don’t even realize. With organs (heart, liver, kidneys, things like that) one person could save eight lives and then what people don’t often know about is tissue donation. Tissue are things like bones, skin, tendons and with those tissues one person could potentially help 100 different people. Those gifts are not always life saving but they do improve the quality of life for people. So someone that had an ACL repair that could get them back on the field or just back to having a pain free life. Giving someone that gift of sight again. Skin helps people heal from burns. It’s just really incredible the amount of people that can be helped with one person’s donation.”
Nebraska Law allows all permit, license or State ID card holders over the age of 16 to participate in organ and tissue donation declaration through the Department of Motor Vehicles. If a person says yes to organ and/or tissue donation, a heart donor symbol will be placed on the lower right hand corner of the permit, license or State ID Card. The symbol and “Donor” will only appear when an individual elects to be an organ and tissue donor. The symbol even appears on the cards of minors (between 16 and 18 years old) who support the cause, but a minor’s final decision is still governed by the consent of their parents or legal adult guardians to actually become an organ and tissue donor. The symbol will appear on the lower left hand corner of a minor’s permit, license or State ID Card. This donation must be renewed each time the permit, license or State ID Card is reissued. The donor status may be changed at anytime by applying for a replacement permit, license or State ID Card. You may also change your organ donor status by contacting the Donor Registry of Nebraska at https://liveonnebraska.org/register/ or by calling 1-877-633-1800.
Listen to our full conversation with Kara Cordell of “Live On Nebraska”
