Organ Donation Event Builds Awareness
Maria Flannery and Lisa Buccella met when they both lived in Franklin 21 years ago. They became fast friends over the years and quickly bonded when they realized they each knew someone who needed an organ transplant. Maria needed a kidney and Lisa's brother in law needed bone marrow. Although he eventually passed away, they are grateful for the extra time they gained from his bone marrow donation.
Today, the two close friends are partners in building awareness about organ donation sharing their success stories with the public.
In March, Maria and Lisa hosted a wine tasting event for the public, while learning about bone marrow and organ donation. The event was held at Pour Richards Wine & Liquors at 14 Grove Street in Franklin. They teamed up with Pour Richards co-owners John Wass and Anne Williams, to enlighten the public about organ donation and entertain with delicious red and white wines, and food.
Her Facebook page, A Kidney for Maria, tells her story in detail. The Hopkinton resident had suffered since age 10 with juvenile diabetes. After many years she started to suffer serious complications from it which included kidney disease. Just after she turned 30 she needed to either start dialysis or get a kidney transplant.
Her father was able to step in and donate one of his kidneys to her. His kidney lasted 18 years and enabled her to live a healthy, happy, normal life and raise her family.
Many years later, Maria's new kidney was starting to fail and she needed a new one. It was a difficult journey. Many friends and family members were tested, but a good match could not be found because she had a more complicated mix of antibodies from her first transplant.
More than 15 people had been tested and she could not find a good match. She had been called in three different times with potential matches for a kidney. And each disappointing time it turned out to be not a good match. Her hopes had been elevated then dashed each time. Fortunately, she received a fourth call which turned out to be a good, healthy match. The following day, surgery took place. It went very well.
Six months later, she is feeling well again to get back on track with life. And her 40 years of diabetes is gone.
Maria's story illustrates how people's lives can be brought back to good health through the medical miracle of organ donation. She has become a strong proponent of educating the public and building awareness, so other people will donate organs, tissue and bone marrow.
She set up her Facebook page to tell her story and also develop an online community to build awareness and search for donors. It is her source for people to write in and share their personal stories. People also send their wishes and support. People write in who are searching and waiting for bone marrow or organs for themselves or family members. Her page now has 900 followers from around the world.
She used this resource to help promote their wine tasting event to the community. Maria and Lisa met their financial goal from the visitors who enjoyed the March wine tasting event. They also want to get the word out about how organ and bone marrow donation really saves lives. The affair was also an opportunity for people to learn about getting swabbed - one of the steps involved in bone marrow donation.
She and Lisa have visited many venues to educate the public. They have hosted events at local YMCA's, high school health classes, and programs with the Red Cross and New England Organ Bank. "We want to promote donating bone marrow and blood, getting swabbed, and organ donation," she said.
Nationally, there are more than 117,000 people waiting for organ donation. This number changes daily. About 95,000 wait for kidneys and 15,000 for liver, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.
The living kidney donor "swap" program is done through the National Kidney Registry. (www.kidneyregistry.org). They have facilitated 666 swaps.
They want to continue educating the public. These events are an opportunity to let people know what their options are and to talk to families. "A big piece is to talk to families and build awareness so people know it works. It's a life-changing thing," she added.
While Maria educates the public about organ donation, Lisa raises funding for DKMS which is an international bone marrow donor registry.
DKMS America is a national bone marrow donor center, which works to expand the bone marrow donor registry by recruiting donors. DKMS works closely with the Be The Match Registry in the U.S. The main mission of DKMS America is to organize donor drives, to build awareness, and recruit potential bone marrow donors to be placed on the registry.
There are many other groups like Be the Match, that link into the DKMS registry, Lisa explained. "If someone wants to be an organ donor, we also let them know they can donate blood and bone marrow (through DKMS). We want to make people aware of other opportunities."
DKMS also provides hope. There is only a 25% chance that someone going through bone marrow surgery will have a match, Lisa said.
So they may go to the registry. An individual or their doctor may visit the registry online, and try to find a suitable match. They may locate a suitable donor who would go through a complete physical. All the expenses are paid for by the potential recipient. Donors have no out-of-pocket expenses. DKMS may help to pay for babysitting or child care if you miss day at work.
DKMS appeals to young people. They target people ages 18-55. It cost $65 to register. Many people may put "organ donor" on their driver's license, but if they didn't, this is another way to register to be a donor. If you meet certain parameters, you may get a call.
If you would like to become an organ donor, sign up at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles when you get your drivers license, or visit www.donatelife.net.
90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor. Events like Maria and Lisa's will hopefully help people to understand the process and be more inclined to put their name on the donor list.
To read more info and get your questions answered, visit the New England Organ Bank website athttp://www.neob.org/faq.htm
Franklin News, April, 2012
