Commentary: During Thanksgiving holiday, register as an organ donor, writes Christina Alibrandi, New York, New York

By Christina Alibrandi | Syracuse.com
I am a 2007 Fayetteville-Manlius High School graduate studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in event planning.

I had a chance to plan and run my own event on Nov. 8 — my college’s first “Give Life” event, which promotes organ donation. It’s a critical cause in New York. Our state has one of the lowest percentages of registered organ donors in the country—just 13 percent of individuals age 18 and older.

Kristin Molini — who survived a rare disease with the help of a five-organ transplant last year — spoke about her struggles and her time on the transplant waiting list. Her story moved many students to tears.Give Life, in partnership with the New York Organ Donor Network, raised student understanding of the importance of being a registered organ donor. Socialites and celebrities, including Danielle Staub, Eric West, Preston Roberson-Charles and Grizz Chapman, attended the event to support organ donation. Chapman, an actor on the TV show “30 Rock,” is a recent kidney transplant survivor.

I want to use what I learned from Give Life to persuade college students in Central New York to become organ donors.

Close to 110,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants. About 9,600 people in New York state need life-saving organ transplants. Approximately 18 people die each day while waiting.

Julia Rivera of the New York Organ Donor Network explained how organ donation by a single individual can save up to eight lives. A donor who additionally is a registered eye and tissue donor can save or improve up to 50 lives.

Maria Torres, a liver transplant survivor, now works for NYODN as a family services specialist. When a person dies, Torres is at the hospital to ask the family to donate their loved one’s organs. She told students that just being a registered organ donor is not enough; you need to inform your family of your decision because they can challenge it.

Please, if you are student home for Thanksgiving break, register as an organ donor and talk to your family about it.

Research shows that college students generally favor organ donation, but few are registered. While planning Give Life, I learned many students have unfounded excuses for not being registered donors.

Some students think organ donors cannot have an open-casket funeral. Some girls said they were too thin. Some worry they may not really be dead when the hospital recovers the organs. Some even thought that if they were injured in a crash, doctors would see they were an organ donor and not try to save their lives. None of these myths are true.

I hope Give Life can inspire people my age to register and to spread the truth about organ donation. It’s easy. Just go to www.donatelifeny.org.

Christina Alibrandi is majoring in advertising and marketing communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.