What’s with Men?

Did you know that less than half the men ages 45-65 in Minnesota are registered to be donors?

What’s with men?!

That’s the question we’re talking about during the next two months with an initiative to use social media to increase the number of Minnesota men between the ages of 45- 65 who are registered to be donors. Only 47% of men in this age group are registered to be donors, compared with 52% of the total population.

Our goal is to increase the number of men who are registered to 50%, or Half The Men, in Minnesota. That might not seem like a lot, but it amounts to more than 13,000 new donor registrations in the next two months if we reach our goal.

Visit our Half The Men website to learn more about what we’re doing – you can watch cool videos, read about our awesome ambassadors and visit our blog there.  And, of course, there’s a link to register to be an organ and tissue donor.

Do you use Facebook or Twitter? Do you have a blog? Then you can help! The more people who know about this campaign, the more successful it will be. Our Half the Men initiative is going to be a fun, light-hearted way to shine a light on the very serious organ shortage facing our communities.

Here’s what you can do to help spread the word:

1. If you have a Facebook or Twitter Account, follow Donate Life Minnesota and re-tweet or share our information – you can become a fan of Donate Life Minnesota  and you can follow us on Twitter.

2. If you have a Facebook account, please help us spread the word. Change your status to let your friends know that they should become a fan of Donate Life Minnesota – not only will they be helping us share the life-saving message of donation, but they’ll be entered into a drawing for a fun giveaway next Wednesday, September 9th.  They’ll also be alerted to other cool giveaways, like our State Fair giveaway this weekend for Twins tickets.

3.  If you are inspired to do so, please let us know why you think men don’t register to be donors at the same rate as the general population.  Leave a comment here or on our Half The Men blog, or create a video and post it to You Tube.

Thanks for your support – talk to the men in your life and ask them if they are registered!

Sioux Falls Monthly Get Together

For the past four months we’ve been bringing you information about joining a group of donor families and transplant recipients for dinner in Sioux Falls on the first Thursday of each month.  This group has grown from just a few individuals to close to two dozen people interested in getting together.  What a great opportunity to connect with others who share a similar interest!

A big thank you to donor moms Charlene Myers, Lindy Smart and Elaine Sorenson for organizing these valuable get togethers.  If you’d like to meet them this month, please find your way to Royal Fork Buffet on Thursday evening (details below).

May 7th, 5:30 pm 

Royal Fork Buffet

 4610 W Empire Pl, Sioux Falls 

room reserved under Lifesource.

Rsvp Charlene Myers by May 6th (curlymom@sio.midco.net or 605-373-6584)

 

Unique Ways to Honor Donation and Transplantation

We have many exceptional, creative and energetic volunteers. I want to focus on just two of them and what they are doing to celebrate National Donate Life Month in April.

Judy is a long time LifeSource volunteer from Fergus Falls, MN. She lost her daughter, Jenny, in May of 1993.  Judy’s activities for April included a radio interview about donation and drunk driving that she has done for many years. She also coordinates a unique program with her beautician.

In addition to providing space for a display and information table, her friend who owns the “ExSalonce” has a special promotion during April. She gives a 20% discount to customers who either show that they have “Donor” on their license or to those who sign up as donors for the first time! What a unique and fun way to communicate our message during April!

Suzanne Ruff is a LifeSource volunteer who knows too well the ravages of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). For several generations, her family has suffered from this often fatal genetic disorder. For National Donate Life Month and for National Donor Sabbath for at least two years, Suzanne has communicated with the Archbishop of St Paul and Minneapolis to convey information to him about donation and transplantation.

Earlier this month, Suzanne received a response from the Archbishop’s office saying that he is both supportive of our cause and that he will try, ” … to the best of my ability, to mention it in my Catholic Spirit column.”  Thank you Suzanne for your perseverance and for helping us to communicate to our friends in high places.

Judy and Suzanne’s activities  for April are not big and flashy acts. They don’t involve billboards or spot lights. But ultimately their work will contribute to the many activities of our volunteers that help ensure that thousands of people hear about the life saving miracles of donation and transplantation!

Thank you, everyone, for all that you do.

Jeff

Are you ready for National Donate Life Month?

Next month is National Donate Life Month, a time to honor the gifts of donation that are selflessly given by donors and their families. 

Although we work tirelessly to share the life-saving message of donation throughout the year, the month of April provides an opportunity to increase education and outreach so that more people will register as organ and tissue donors.

Given that April is right around the corner, now is a great time to get the information and supplies you need for this important national celebration.

You might be asking yourself, ‘What can I do?’  Here are some suggestions:

• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
• Volunteer at a health fair
• Speak to a health, driver’s education or professional education class
• Put a poster up in your office
• Place Donate Life brochures in your company pay envelopes and follow up with an email
• Send a personal email to family and friends asking if they are a donor and if they have questions
• Share information with your faith community, perhaps in the bulletin, during service or in an email
• Contact your local library and ask to put up a display about donation.
• Consider honoring your donor or loved one by dedicating an Easter Lily in their honor; Easter Sunday is April 12th this year. (Example: In honor of John Doe, who gave me a kidney and the gift of life)

We have a number of resources available free-of-charge to help you promote the gifts of donation and transplantation in your community.  Email us if you would like brochures, high school education booklets, posters or pencils.  You can also purchase Donate Life items online.

Thanks for everything you do in your community to help save lives through donation!

Honoring 20 Years of Saving Lives

Where were you 20 years ago?

I was nearing the end of my elementary school career, likely honing my dodgeball skills and doing my best to avoid anything having to do with mathematics. 

Many of my coworkers, however, spent 1989 doing incredibly important work that I would later come to know, setting the stage for an organization that has impacted tens of thousands of lives in a very real way.

Next week our CEO, Susan Gunderson, will celebrate her 20th anniversary with LifeSource, simultaneously marking the 20th anniversary of the organization.

Wow.

It is an incredible milestone for LifeSource and for Susan.  We have been so fortunate to have the same dedicated and passionate leader at the helm of the organization for the past two decades, a history not many organizations can boast.  

Earlier this week I sat down with Susan to discuss this anniversary and asked her to reflect on what it’s been like to be part of this journey.

Over the past twenty years, LifeSource has supported the families of more than 4,900 donors whose legacy can be felt throughout our communities and accross the country.  These generous individuals have provided more than 10,000 organs for transplant and more than 150,000 tissue grafts to grateful recipients. 

We are honored to share this milestone with all of our partners who have joined us in this journey – hospitals, transplant centers, states, legislators, community advocates, transplant recipients and, of course, donors and their families.

Over the course of the year we will be sharing many more memories from people who have been connected to our mission.  If you have a story or a memory you would like to contribute to our patchwork of history, we hope you will let us know.  In the next day or two there will be a form posted on this page of our website so that you can send us your thoughts.  Or, please feel free to leave a comment here. 

On behalf of everyone touched by donation and transplantation, thank you, Susan, for your tireless dedication to supporting families and saving lives through donation.

National Donor Memorial Website Launched

UNOS (United Network or Organ Sharing) has launched a new National Donor Memorial site. This new site gives donor families and others the opportunity to see the National Donor Memorial located in Richmond Virgina. The purpose of the Memorial is to honor those that have given the gift of life through donation. It is also through the experience of the memorial and the educational opportunities to hopefully one day end the shortage of organs for transplant that is a reality today.

The website provides photos and a virtual tour of the actual memorial site, but what could be seen as the most powerful is the tributes. Donor Families are able to submit a tribute in honor of their loved one which includes a photo. In the spirit of honoring the donors it is the first thing you see on the website and the tribute changes every time you visit the website. When I visited the website I found it very easy to be pulled in by the stories of those that gave the gift of life through donation. You end up wanting to read just one more before you go onto something else. Check out this new resource to learn more about donation and those that make it possible through giving generously of themselves.  

Take care,

John LeMay

Celebrate the New Year with Stars of Life

As the third most watched entertainment event in the world, the Tournament of Roses Parade is a long-standing New Year’s Day tradition.  On Thursday, for the sixth year, the Donate Life Float will be part of this esteemed tradition, sharing the life-saving message of organ, tissue and eye donation.  I encourage you to watch the parade and look for the Donate Life Float, scheduled near the end of the parade this year.  The parade begins at 10:00am CST on January 1st and will be broadcast on ABC, NBC, HGTV, the Travel Channel, and Univision.

This year’s parade theme is “Hat’s Off to Entertainment,” and while most of the majestic floats in this year’s parade will pay tribute to Hollywood, the Donate Life Float will pay tribute to the real-life stars – regular people like you and me who make organ, tissue, eye and blood donation an inspiring story of courage, compassion, hope and renewal. 

We are proud that this year four donors from the Upper Midwest will be honored as part of the Donate Life Float – Kevin Morsching, Anne Laumer, Curtis Lovegren and Quentin Dachis.  You can read about these gracious donors and see pictures of them by clicking on their name. 

Kevin’s mom, Kim, is honoring his memory by riding on the float as one of 26 float riders.  Look for her when you watch the parade tomorrow.  Anne, Curtis and Quentin will be honored with floral portraits called floragraphs that will adorn the float.  

All of the families have either traveled to Pasadena earlier this month to decorate their loved one’s floragraph or will be there tomorrow to participate in the float festivities and watch the magical trip down Colorado Boulevard.  I hope to share their thoughts about their experiences in Pasadena with you in the near future.

Tune in tomorrow to see this spectacular float bring the message of hope and healing to millions of people world-wide.  Happy New Year!

State of North Dakota named Donation Advocate of the Year

On December 2 I had the great honor of traveling to Bismarck, North Dakota to thank the State leadership for their support for organ and tissue donation. Each year LifeSource awards a community partner with a Donation Advocate of the Year award and we enthusiastically granted this award for 2007 to the State of North Dakota.

LifeSource staff and volunteers work tirelessly to encourage more people to say yes to donation. Our ability to do this effectively relies on strong partnerships with leaders such as the State of North Dakota.

It continues to be an honor to work with North Dakota legislators, the Governor’s office, and the Department of Transportation to advocate for donation throughout the state. Efforts over the past two years have resulted in a significant increase in donor designation in North Dakota. Currently, more than 300,000 North Dakotans are registered donors. At 62% of the licensed drivers and ID card holders, this is one of the top rates of donation in the country.

On December 2 we hosted a legislative luncheon in the North Dakota State Capitol. Judge Gail Hagerty, LifeSource Board member, welcomed everyone to the luncheon and Dr. Charles Rosen, liver transplant surgeon, Mayo Clinic and LifeSource Board member, traveled to Bismarck to present the award. Dr. Rosen grew up in Bismarck and it was nice to hear him share some of his childhood memories. One of Dr. Rosen’s patients is a liver-kidney recipient from Bismarck and she was present at the event. Dr. Rosen presented the award to Francis Ziegler, Director, Department of Transportation, and Linda Butts, Deputy Director, Driver and Vehicle Services. A press release about the event can be found here.

New Writers

I’m excited to introduce you to two new writers for The Source – Jeff Richert and John LeMay.  You can read about them on the writers page.  

I’ve asked them to join me here because they so often have interesting stories to share.  As luck would have it, both of their desks are a stone’s throw from mine which means I have the pleasure of hearing Jeff say things like “One of the kids in this driver’s ed class asked the most unusal question today…” or John say things like “I just talked with a donor father who’s doing something really cool…” We’ll all benefit from hearing their perspective and experiences.

Below is John’s first post.  In the future he and Jeff will be posting them directly; I just wanted the pleasure of introducting them to you!  Enjoy.

Last night at  Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis, Q Health Services, LifeSource and guests gathered together to celebrate the gift of life. We focused not only on the gift of life through organ and tissue donation, we also celebrated other gifts. The generous gift of finances by the PACE Foundation who has given resources towards the goal of education about donation and how powerful it is. The gift of relationship between Q Health Services and LifeSource and how through that partnership we are able to multiply our efforts to reach out into the community at large towards our goals. One of the most important gifts was to recognize the individuals that through the gift of their time, focus, energy and talent make our community better, healthier and more productive.

The evening ended with a performance by Kennedy Barber and the last song he sang had the line in it, “If I can help someone my living will not be in vain.” That line is at the essence of what all the organizations, groups and individuals do. They are working so that they can help someone through donation, education, resources or friendship, it is understood that they are serving a larger purpose in this world. They are serving their community, and through that they are giving the gift of life every day. 

Donor Family and Recipient Picnic

Last Saturday LifeSource hosted a donor family and recipient picnic in Duluth, Minnesota.  We were honored, excited and surprised when nearly 200 people rsvp’d!   

Here’s a great article about the picnic, that profiles a donor mom, Beth, and her son Mark’s heart recipient, Vern, that was published in the Duluth News Tribune. (I apologize if you have to register to view the article; some papers require that now)

I also want to share a video of Beth and another donor mom, Gloria, sharing a little bit about their sons – Mark and Tom, respectively.   

I was not able to attend the picnic; I was at the Sharing Life Foundation’s Walk/Run in St. Paul, Minnesota, another great cause that supports the work we do to educate the public about donation and register people as donors. 

The staff that did attend the picnic talked about what a fantastic day it was – donor family members and recipients sharing memories and milestones.  Susan’s words sum up the day perfectly:

Opportunities for donor family members and recipients to connect are rare and yet they are so important and appreciated. A little girl showed me her button and said “this is my Daddy and I miss him” and then she kissed the picture. She will treasure that button always.

Look for more picnics next year!