By Oliver and Elizabeth Hedgepeth
There are special suppliers of life in our great country, from North Carolina to Virginia to Alaska. They are those hospitals that collect the basic raw material for giving life. They work with a network of donor service organizations across the United States. In Virginia, it is Donate Life Virginia. In North Carolina, it is Carolina Donor Services. In Alaska, it is Life Alaska Donor Services.
The raw material that comprises those supply items are you, me, anyone from 3 months old to 75 years old, so far in our experience. Yes, a 3-month-old can die of many causes some accidents, others an incurable disease. But, that 3 month-old can give life and sight and other helpful body parts to others, as can that 75-year-old. The final person to receive such a gift is you, your wife, child, husband, mother, father, a teacher, a prisoner in jail anyone and everyone.
There are more than 50 different parts of a persons body that can be donated to help others live a better life. Those supply items are organs, corneas, tissues, hands and face, blood stem cells, cord blood, bone marrow, blood and platelets. The number of people given this gift of life exceeded 113,000 in 2019.
Real-life experience: We recently attended a Donor Family Tribute in Greenville, N.C. The sponsor of this event was Carolina Donor Services. The building was huge and looked like a country club. We were not sure if we were at the right place, and we even questioned why we should spend our Sunday afternoon there.
This nice-looking building clearly was a place to hold a special event. When we reached the register desk, we discovered our name was not on the list. We debated for three months after the invitation arrived whether we wanted to be around a group of people who lost their loved ones.
There was a meeting and dining area, much as you would expect at a professional conference. There was nice, light music playing in the background, the walls were black and there were quilts hanging all over the front of the room. The quilts had small 12-inch squares on them. It was obvious that the quilt was a remembrance of the ones who had died.
We sat at a table that had many place settings and chairs. We sat quietly for about 30 minutes, as around 200 people entered the room and took their seats. When the room filled, the talking was in whispers, as if we were in church waiting for a service to begin. We thought about quietly getting up and leaving. We did not fit in here.
The 200 people were a mix of races, ages and abilities. A spokesperson on stage invited all the guests to join the buffet line. We all did, and the group ate for about 30 minutes, again like a church social. Then it began.
The speaker asked if anyone would like to tell about a loved one who donated to help others live. Slowly, people many of whom had never spoken in front of a group walked to the microphone. One woman, smiling and happy with tears of joy running down her face, spoke about finding her 15-year-old son in his room at home, hanged. She described how it took three days for him to die of his suicide.
Then, she happily said his hand was being used by another young boy who had lost his in an accident and how her sons eyes would make another person see for the first time in years.
Another person shared the story of how a 3-month-olds death from an incurable disease helped other life-threatened babies live. The sharing of stories went on for about three hours.
When we gathered to leave, we and those 200 people were all the same. We were friends, like long-lost relatives. There was no age or race or illness separating us. We all treated each other as the same.
People are waiting: When someone you love dies, grief memoirs seem the same. Being around those who also have lost someone and are grieving seems to be a logical connection. The topic of conversation is similar and shared. But the loss is still there for the person so loved. Something changed with this donor tribute.
The 200 or so people with their common loss encountered a gain. Many of them know the person who has received a new hand, or can see, or can talk for the first time in years. Knowing that their loved one is still alive in a small part of someone else, maybe even the heart itself, gives comfort to us who have been left with such grief in the past.
The donor process of giving was not around when our parents died. If it had been, our visits to the gravesites would hold a little more light of happiness, knowing someone was walking around on a farm or in an office with our loved ones heart or arteries or hands.
Donate Life Virginia is a small part of life-giving across all of America. Please, donate in your state when your time comes. We are.
Oliver Hedgepeth is professor of logistics for the American Military University. Elizabeth Hedgepeth is former managing editor of the Petersburg Progress-Index. Contact them at: blh4835@gmail.com
Read this article:
Oliver and Elizabeth Hedgepeth column: Human donations are a gift of life - Richmond.com
- Long COVID-19 May Stem From an Overactive Immune Response in the Lungs - SciTechDaily - October 13th, 2022
- Long COVID-19 and other chronic respiratory conditions after viral infections may stem from an overactive immune response in the lungs - Huron Daily... - August 5th, 2022
- DiPersio receives awards recognizing contributions to cancer care, research Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington... - July 27th, 2022
- With Supreme Court Failing California, Is It Time to Go on Our Own? - zocalopublicsquare.org - July 11th, 2022
- PARP Inhibitors Are Under Study as Treatment Options Beyond BRCA-Mutated Breast Cancer - OncLive - May 15th, 2022
- What it's like to compete in the science fair 'Olympics' - Science News for Students - May 15th, 2022
- Plug-and-play organ-on-a-chip can be customized to the patient - EurekAlert - May 2nd, 2022
- 'Where Does It Hurt?': Primary Care Tips for Common Ortho Problems - Medscape - May 2nd, 2022
- Pollution could be sucking the youth out of you, quite literally - ZME Science - June 23rd, 2021
- Habitable Earth an anomaly? Awardees of STEM grants study this and more | University of Hawaii System News - UH System Current News - June 6th, 2021
- Clint Smith's 'How The Word Is Passed' And Race History - NPR - June 6th, 2021
- Study: Israeli-made anti-COVID nasal spray reduced infection at mass gathering - The Times of Israel - February 23rd, 2021
- Novel Bone Marrow 'Ingredient' To Help Arthritic Horses The Horse - TheHorse.com - February 7th, 2021
- Anatomy of a vaccine: What it takes to create a safe, effective COVID shot - University of California - December 9th, 2020
- U.S. elections bring wins and losses for research community - Science Magazine - November 5th, 2020
- Viewpoint: Rightwing packing on Supreme Court means ERA more crucial than ever to protect Women's Rights - Blog - The Island Now - November 5th, 2020
- Talaris Therapeutics Announces Collaboration With Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates to Advance Preclinical Study of Tolerance Induction to Organs From... - September 18th, 2020
- Alleged unwanted hysterectomies and other abuses at ICE facility prompts investigation - USA TODAY - September 18th, 2020
- WVU assistant professor receives $3 million to study impacts of air pollution on lungs - The Daily Athenaeum - thedaonline - August 31st, 2020
- Landmark transplant in 1960s Virginia performed with heart stolen from a Black man - Live Science - August 12th, 2020
- Surrozen reloads with $50M for final dash to the clinic, shines some light on lead Wnt-modulating candidates - Endpoints News - June 20th, 2020
- Focused Ultrasound Opening Brain to Previously Impossible Treatments - University of Virginia - May 12th, 2020
- First-of-its-Kind Bio-Artificial Pancreas on Track for Type-I Diabetes Cure - Global Trade Magazine - February 8th, 2020
- Bent into shape: The rules of tree form - Knowable Magazine - February 4th, 2020
- Q&A: Cancer Death Rates Are Falling Nationally. Here's What's Happening at UVA - University of Virginia - January 11th, 2020
- Brown fat warms your body in cold weather | NOVA - NOVA Next - December 30th, 2019
- Dr. Christopher Good | Spinal Surgeon | Virginia Spine - May 13th, 2019
- Top 25 Most Haunted Places in Virginia - Colonial Ghosts - May 13th, 2019
- Stem Cell Therapy in Dallas, TX | National Stem Cell Centers - March 5th, 2019
- Stem Cell Injections Richmond, Virginia | Alternative to ... - February 24th, 2019
- Virginia Beach VA 23460 - National Stem Cell Therapy - February 22nd, 2019
- Stem Cell Richmond Virginia 23230 - January 5th, 2019
- Stem Cell Transplantation at Virginia Oncology Associates - November 23rd, 2018
- Stem Cells Lynchburg VA | Stem Cell Recovery SW Virginia - July 24th, 2018
- Stem Cell Therapy - Virginia Spine Institute - July 11th, 2018
- PRP & Stem Cell Treatment in Richmond VA - Dr. Bill Nordt ... - July 11th, 2018
- Stem Cell Therapy Hair Growth | McLean | Virginia Surgical ... - October 15th, 2017
- SpaceX Dragon Delivers Supplies (and Science) to Space Station - Space.com - August 19th, 2017
- John Theurer Cancer Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Announce 100 - Business Wire (press release) - August 5th, 2017
- Grant supports 3D innovation in stem cell-related cancer research at ODU - Southside Daily - August 5th, 2017
- Roanoke researchers pursue treatments for the type of deadly brain cancer affecting McCain - Richmond.com - August 5th, 2017
- Everything's a hustle in Orphan Black episode 5.5 - SYFY WIRE (blog) - July 9th, 2017
- Tests show no signs of cancer for Danville 2-year-old - GoDanRiver.com - July 6th, 2017
- U.Va. Smashes Barrier to Growing Organs from Stem Cells ... - November 23rd, 2016
- Stem Cell Therapy for Neck & Back Pain - DC Metro Area - November 23rd, 2016
- Home - StemCell ARTS - October 30th, 2016
- Stem Cell Transplantation - Virginia Cancer - October 30th, 2016
- Regenerative Medicine Research - Virginia-Maryland College ... - October 30th, 2016
- NASA awards UCI $9 million to study underlying mechanisms of 'space brain' - March 18th, 2015
- New ACL Preservation at G2 Orthopedics and Sports Medicine - February 20th, 2015
- Most cancers are just bad luck, others from bad genes, environment - January 20th, 2015
- The Week That Was: Bear Down - December 22nd, 2014
- Stem cells and cell adaptations to particular functions - December 19th, 2014
- Billionaire's New Science Institute Plans 'Google Maps' View Of Cells - December 9th, 2014
- Ridiculously tiny stomachs created for disease experiments - October 30th, 2014
- Misfolded Proteins Clump Together in a Surprising Place - October 16th, 2014
- Why Didn't They Win? 10 Huge Discoveries Without a Nobel Prize - October 9th, 2014
- Cell Stem Cell Protocol Review - Medicine School of ... - September 27th, 2014
- Stem Cells Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - Fetal stem cells ... - September 27th, 2014
- Williamsburg Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cell Therapy ... - September 25th, 2014
- Virginia Beach Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cell Therapy ... - September 25th, 2014
- Posts Tagged virginia - virginia StemCell Doctors - August 29th, 2014
- Virginia (Stem Cell) - what-when-how - August 22nd, 2014
- About Us - StemCell ARTS - Stem Cell Therapy and PRP for ... - August 22nd, 2014
- Virginia Stem Cell Treatments | Stem Cell Treatments - August 22nd, 2014
- Stem Cell Therapy Virginia | Stem Cell Treatments - August 22nd, 2014