Celebrating Eight Years of Saving Lives

It’s been said that “life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.” I have found that to be so true in my eight years with Lifeline of Ohio.

It’s hard to believe at times that I will mark eight years of service this week … our team is dedicated to saving lives and we have accomplished so much over the years as we’ve seen the Ohio Donor Registry rates grow from 48 percent to nearly 55 percent, but as always, there remains much to do too (shameless plug for our first-ever 24-hour eventSaturday to kick off Donate Life Month – hope you will join us!)

I have been touched and moved by so many of my experiences over the years — from telling the story of an 8-month-old boy who died while waiting for his heart transplant on Mother’s Day; to helping to coordinate the donor family / heart recipient meeting that played out on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition; to following a young girl through her transplant journey and watching her find another “tomorrow;” to working as part of the team that broke a Guinness World Record last year while shining the light on organ and tissue donation; to accomplishing a career goal – winning a Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil award for our “Live On. Ride On.” campaign.

The memories and moments are truly endless. I feel so honored to work every day with our volunteers, donor families, and my amazing teammates who help make the Gift of Life possible for so many. A co-worker has always said this becomes your life’s work … organ and tissue donation and the passion to make a difference is in my blood. Mary Wilder’s quote, “tell me, what is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?” continues to guide me through my days as Lifeline of Ohio’s community relations manager. I know I want to continue making a difference; to continue knowing I am working to offer hope for the more than 110,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list (which was 80,000 when I started my career in 2003). To everyone who has shepherded me on this journey, thank you. It’s been a remarkable eight years, and I look forward to many more at Lifeline of Ohio.

-Heather Blausey, community relations manager