second chances. infinite hope.

Ask Libby: “How old do I need to be to register as a donor?”

libbydwolfe — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:40:49 +0000

Libby Wolfe is the Project Manager at The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland. Her main role is to act as a liaison and maintain a relationship with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. She often hears the same questions being asked while traveling between Maryland MVA branches and we thought it would be great to let her sound off on some of these questions. Libby will address a common question related to the Maryland donor registry in Ask Libby, a special feature on our blog, each month. Enjoy, and feel free to e-mail her your questions at lwolfe@thellf.org.

Dear Becca –

Congrats on turning 17 – this is such an exciting time in your life! Getting your provisional license and making the decision to designate as an organ donor are just some of the important choices you get to make as you become a young adult. This question actually comes up quite a bit – from new drivers, parents and MVA employees. The quick answer to your question is – you should have been asked about your donor designation decision. You can either return to the MVA to update your donor designation to YES (this is free to do) or you can register online at www.donatelifemaryland.org.

Here’s a more in-depth explanation about age and donor designation: At the MVA, the donor designation question should be asked during all drivers’ license or state ID transactions for persons ages 16 years and older. Drivers’ licenses, learners’ permits and state ID transactions are all eligible transactions where someone can designate as a donor. During these transactions, persons 16 years and older can register their donor designation decision without parental authorization.

The new Revised Uniform Anatomic Gift Act (RUAGA) that became effective on October 1, 2011 supports donor designations for persons who are at least 13 years old who can join the online registry at donatelifemaryland.org. Parents and legal guardians would have the ultimate decision should the option for donation be presented prior to a minor turning 18 years of age. This is one of the reasons it is important for minors to share their decision with their families. Should a tragedy occur, families who have already had this conversation will have an easier time making decisions on behalf of their loved one.

I hope this helps answer your question and be sure to share this information with your family and friends so they can be informed too!

A very Ravens recap

Lauren — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:49:19 +0000

On December 24, 2011, Donate Life Maryland and The Living Legacy Foundation were game day sponsors for the Baltimore Ravens game against the Cleveland Browns. Many fans stopped by the Donate Life Maryland tent before the game on their way through Ravenswalk to learn more about donation and pick up some cool prizes. The LLF and Donate Life Maryland staff were overwhelmed and overjoyed by the number of people who proudly told us they were designated organ , eye and tissue donors. Some fans even showed us the heart on their driver’s license as proof!

Seeing Donate Life Maryland’s logo and registry website on the big screen and hearing the announcer encourage fans to designate themselves as donors was an exciting bonus for staff and volunteers who were at the game.

The LLF and Donate Life Maryland hope our life-saving message hit home with many of the fans who attended the game or listened on the radio and were previously unaware of the impact one person can have on the lives of so many others through donation. Check out our Facebook album for more pictures of the day!

Editor’s note: GO RAVENS!

Donate Life America Launches Campaign to Register “20 Million in 2012”

Lauren — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:17:32 +0000

Donate Life America, the national organization promoting organ, eye and tissue donation, is launching a bold new initiative to register 20 million people in 2012 on their state donor registries.

“Donate Life celebrated 100 million registered donors in 2011, which means 42 percent of individuals age 18 and older are registered as organ, eye and tissue donors,” says David Fleming, President and CEO of Donate Life America. “With the majority of individuals in the United States wishing to be organ, eye and tissue donors, the biggest challenge to meeting our goal of 20 million will be getting people to take action and register today as an organ, eye and tissue donor at DonateLifeAmerica.org”

The year-long “20 Million in 2012” campaign will work to register donors on their state registries and will include many events geared to raise awareness and bring attention to donation.

The campaign will also launch Donate Life America’s “I am HOPE” story project, featuring 365 incredibly powerful stories of people personally touched by organ, eye and tissue donation. Each Donate Life State Team will have one week of 2012 to promote stories of hope from their state and disseminate them through the Facebook pages and Web sites of Donate Life America and its partners.

Be on the lookout for Maryland’s featured stories during the “I am HOPE” project, as well as other ways our state continues to work toward the goal of registering 20 million new donors in 2012 through local events and outreach projects.

To register as an organ, eye and tissue donor, or for more information about donation, visit www.donatelifemaryland.org.

Ten years later, a young girl’s legacy still inspires others to give the gift of life

Lauren — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:56:34 +0000

Heather Ann Ricci was only ten years old in August 2001 when the car she was riding in was struck by a tractor trailer in Harford County, Md. When they learned the head injury Heather had sustained from the accident had been fatal, Heather’s parents selflessly thought of others during one of the darkest moments of their lives and said yes to organ donation.

Heather was able to save five people’s lives through organ donation, and her legacy did not end there. Her story has touched the lives and hearts of many over the last ten years, including her childhood friend, Megan Kurtzman.

This year, Megan, now a junior at High Point University in North Caroline, decided to get involved with the Donate Life Campus Challenge in Heather’s honor. The Campus Challenge is a competition between other North Carolina colleges and universities to register the most organ donors during a period of time, and at the end of the challenge, High Point University was named the winner after registering more than 500 new donors and beating out other large schools in the challenge such as East Carolina University.

Click the link below to read the full article about Megan’s efforts to keep Heather’s memory alive by encouraging others to designate themselves as organ, eye and tissue donors.

HPU Wins Donate for Life Challenge

To raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation on your own college campus in Maryland, contact Lauren Muskauski, lmuskauski@thellf.org, 410-242-7000 x2005.

GospelFest 2011: A Recap

Lauren — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:08:44 +0000

“There’s a Lifting of Hands,” a song by gospel group Israel Breed, speaks about “liftin’ of the hearts, there’s a liftin’ of the eyes that are beyond the hills to where our help comes from.” This is surely what happened at the first annual Donate Life GospelFest held on November 12, 2011 at New Psalmist Baptist Church. Sponsored by Donate Life Maryland and The Living Legacy Foundation, this capstone event celebrated National Donor Sabbath, an annual interfaith observance to raise awareness for the urgent need for organ, eye and tissue donors.

Gospel hip hop artist and Baltimore native Manuel Ringgold kicked off the evening’s performances by asking the audience to “give hope and care for others by registering to become an organ donor.” Additional performances by the New Psalmist Baptist Church Choir, St. John’s AME Church – Unity Choir, DJ Fella & Anointed Voices and Sheldon Brown, entertained guests with graceful voices, jamming performances, and soulful renditions of classic spirituals tied into the powerful message of giving the gift of life.

Nearly 300 guests came together for an evening filled with music, praise and testimonials, to celebrate life and to give thanks for those who selflessly said “yes” to donation in order to help others in need of a life saving transplant.

If you are interested in learning more about The Living Legacy Foundation’s outreach efforts in the Faith community, or participating in next year’s Donate Life GospelFest, please contact Latrice Price at 410-242-7000.

Written by Ieesha Johnson, In-House Coordinator for Saint Agnes Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Ieesha is also an active member of The LLF’s faith-based outreach committee.

Religious Perspectives of Donation

Lauren — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:12:12 +0000

Faith and hope play an important role in the donation and transplant process. From those who await organ and tissue transplants to return them to their lives and families; to registered donors who believe one day they will make a lifesaving difference, to donor families who carry the hope that their loved ones gave life to others, all have faith in something greater than themselves.

The topic of religion often comes up in conversation about donation, as one of the primary myths heard regarding donation surrounds the topic. Along with myths about whether or not a specific religion is “able” to donate or not, comes cultural assumptions about whether or not a family will be willing to donate. Below is a partial list of the most common religions and their views on donation. For a full list, log-on to www.donatelifemaryland.org.

AME & AME Zion: Organ and tissue donation is viewed as an act of neighborly love and charity by these denominations. They encourage all members to support donation as a way of helping others.

Baptist: Though Baptists generally believe organ and tissue donation and transplantation are ultimately matters of personal conscience, the nation’s largest protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, adopted a resolution in 1988. The resolution encourages physicians to request organ donation in appropriate circumstances and to “encourage voluntarism regarding organ donation in the spirit of stewardship, compassion for the needs of others and alleviating suffering.”

Buddhism: Buddhists believe organ and tissue donation is a matter of individual conscience and place high value on acts of compassion. The importance of letting loved ones know your wishes is stressed.

Catholicism: Catholics view organ and tissue donation as an act of charity and love. Transplants are morally and ethically acceptable to the Vatican.

Hinduism: According to the Hindu Temple Society of North America, Hindus are not prohibited by religious law from donating their organs.

Islam: The religion of Islam believes in the principle of saving human lives. ”The majority of the Muslim scholars belonging to various schools of Islamic law have invoked the principle of priority of saving human life and have permitted the organ transplant as a necessity to procure that noble end.” – Islamic Views on Organ Donation

Jehovah’s Witnesses: According to the Watch Tower Society, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe donation is a matter of individual decision. Jehovah’s Witnesses are often assumed to be opposed to donation because of their beliefs against blood transfusion, however, this merely means all blood must be removed from the organs and tissues prior to being transplanted.

Judaism: All four branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist) support and encourage donation.

Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints): The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believes the decision to donate is an individual one made in conjunction with family, medical personnel and prayer. They do not oppose donation.

December Transplant Anniversaries!

Lauren — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:06:34 +0000

The Living Legacy Foundation would like to wish a very happy transplant anniversary to the following transplant recipients during the month of December:

Emily Biondi
Kidney transplant recipient
7 yrs ago on 12/19/2003
Emily’s kidney was donated to her by her dad, Norm Biondi, so 12/19 is also Norm’s 7th anniversary of being a living donor!

Sam Tiemann
Liver transplant recipient
Second liver transplant 1 yr ago on 12/21/2010

We wish you all many happy, healthy years to come!

If you have a transplant anniversary you’d like to share, leave us a comment below!

Making a Difference: Celebrating Our Community Partners

Lauren — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:46:27 +0000

On November 10, 2011, The Living Legacy Foundation honored many of the hospital and community partners, whose hard work and commitment to raising awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation helps saves the lives of hundreds of Marylanders waiting for a life-saving transplant every year.

The celebration of these year-long accomplishments took place on November 10 at the Baltimore Hilton. Nearly 200 nurses, doctors, hospital administrators and community members were in attendance. Listed below are all the evening’s award winners.

Hospital Partner Award Winners

(award period August 2010 – July 2011)

Organ Conversion rate of 75% or greater

Anne Arundel Medical Center

Baltimore Washington Medical Center

Franklin Square Hospital Center

Meritus Medical Center

Peninsula Regional Medical Center

University of Maryland Medical Center

Organ Conversion Rate of 65 – 74%

Saint Agnes Hospital

Organ Conversion Rate of 50 – 64 %

The Johns Hopkins Hospital

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore

Organs Transplanted per Donor equal or greater to 3.75

Meritus Medical Center

University of Maryland Medical Center

Donation after Cardiac Death Organ Conversation Rate of 10% or Greater

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Meritus Medical Center

Saint Agnes Hospital

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore

University of Maryland Medical Center

Special Recognition for hospital earned awards in all three categories

Meritus Medical Center

University of Maryland Medical Center

Greatest number of tissue donors within our DSA in each Tier

Frederick Memorial Hospital

Northwest Hospital

Peninsula Regional Medical Center

University of Maryland Medical Center

Timely tissue referrals 90% or better certificates

Chester River Hospital Center

Dorchester General Hospital

Garrett County Hospital Center

Memorial Hospital of Easton

St. Mary’s Hospital

Community Partner Award Winners

High School of the Year

Baltimore City College High School

Volunteers of the Year

Valerie Murray

Lei Zheng

Funeral Home of the Year

Evans Funeral Chapel

Pastor of the Year

Rev. Stephen Thomas

Zion Baptist Church

The Living Legacy Foundation would also like to recognize and thank the following organizations and individuals for their continued support of organ and tissue donation and transplantation:

Applications and Research Lab

Archbishop Curly High School

Thomasine A. Baskerville, LCSW-C, Maryland General Hospital

Michelle Brown, Assistant to the Senator Barbara Mikulski

Lynn M. Bowens, Constituent Services Office, Department of Human Resources State of Maryland

Calvert Hall High School

Carroll County Career and Technology Center

Cylex, Inc

Donate Life Maryland

Fox45

Francis Scott Key High School

Franklin High School

Johns Hopkins Medicine – Comprehensive Transplant Center

Lansdowne High School

Lula Long, Chaplain, Saint Agnes Hospital and Bon Scour Hospital

Maryland State Funeral Directors Association

Miller’s Minuteman Press

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

Northeast Senior High School

Northern Garret High School

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel High School

Pastor Travis, Evergreen AME Church

Racine MultiSports

Rev. Jerome Stephens, Senator Benjamin Cardin’s Office

Southern Garrett High School

State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors

University of Maryland Medical Center – Division of Transplantation

Carmi Washington, Faith Based and Community Partnerships, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Brandon Wylie, Wylie Funeral Home

Congratulations to all the award winners!

Photos of this event are available for downloading and printing on The LLF’s Shutterfly site: http://makingadifferenceceremony.shutterfly.com/

Special thanks to Nina K Photography for taking such beautiful pictures of the event.

Updated wait list numbers

Lauren — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:53:36 +0000

Tyler, 19, is currently waiting for a kidney transplant.

Each day at any given time, there are thousands of men, women and children waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in the United States. These are people’s parents, children, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, aunts, uncles, grandparents, best friends and neighbors who are all waiting for a second chance at life. On average, 18 people a day will die waiting, and every 12 minutes a new name will be added to this long list of people who are waiting. The only way to make a difference is to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor, so make sure to encourage family and friends to take action and join the Maryland donor registry (or their state’s donor registry if they are not Maryland residents).

	Local Maryland Waiting List	National Waiting List
Kidney	1,699	90,368
Liver	400	16,264
Pancreas	27	1,345
Kidney/Pancreas	37	2,118
Heart	57	3,171
Lung	36	1,733
Heart/Lung	1	72
Intestines	0	263
Total	2,212	112,674

As of 11/4/2011 via www.UNOS.org

To register as an organ, eye and tissue donor in Maryland, visit www.donatelifemaryland.org. If you are not a Maryland resident, visit www.donatelife.net to find your state’s online donor registry.

Be someone’s hero. Register as an organ, eye and tissue donor today.

If you or someone you know is currently waiting for an organ or tissue transplant and would like to be featured in future blog posts regarding the waitlist and the need for organ donors, contact Lauren Muskauski, lmuskauski@thellf.org.

National Donor Sabbath: Give thanks. Give life.

Lauren — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:30:18 +0000

Regardless of religious affiliation, congregations and houses of worship across the nation will recognize the lifesaving benefits of organ, eye and tissue donation on November 11-13, 2011 in honor of National Donor Sabbath, an ecumenical celebration of life. Though specific beliefs differ between denominations, the underlying theme – that organ, eye and tissue donation is one of the highest forms of giving – directly correlates with the principle upon which all major religions are based. Throughout the celebration, congregations are reminded of their faith’s support of donation and are encouraged to make an outward expression of faith by registering as organ, eye and tissue donors at www.donatelifemaryland.org.

Observation of National Donor Sabbath is an opportunity for religious communities to touch the lives of millions of people. More than 112,000 men, women and children in the United States are currently awaiting transplants and about 2,000 of those people waiting reside in Maryland. Approximately only 50 percent of those waiting will receive the transplant they need to live. The solution to this problem is to encourage more people to commit to being organ, eye and tissue donors and provide them with the correct information on how to join their state donor registry to ensure their decision will be carried out. This is the goal of National Donor Sabbath.

There are many ways you can get involved with the donation cause and celebrate life during National Donor Sabbath. Below are just a few:

Presentations & Workshops
The Living Legacy Foundation’s staff and volunteers are more than happy to visit your place of worship and educate others about the importance of donation. Transplant recipients and donor family members are available to share their personal stories of hope and second chances during these presentations.

Bulletin Inserts
The Living Legacy Foundation can provide bulletin inserts with facts about donation as well as information about how to sign up as a donor.

GospelFest
On November 12, 2011, The Living Legacy Foundation and Donate Life Maryland will be hosting GospelFest, a free event showcasing local gospel choirs and celebrating the gift of life. Click here for more information about this event.

For more information about National Donor Sabbath, to arrange an interview with a donor family member or transplant recipient, or simply learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation contact Latrice Price, lprice@thellf.org, 410-242-7000 x2037.