Turner Ashby junior pushes for organ donation education

Written by Megan Williams | The News Leader

HARRISONBURG — Maddie Shinaberry knew she had months, not years.

When she was placed on the national organ transplant list because her lungs were failing, her doctors couldn't answer the big when — or if — question.

Two months later she got the call. Her new organs were waiting for her at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

A 45-minute flight, an eight-hour wait and a six-hour procedure operation, the teenager had two brand new lungs and a new perspective on life.

Now, two years later, her healthy lungs let her be a normal high school junior. But unlike most high school students, Maddie spends time teaching, too.

She speaks at conventions. She tells people her story and how if it weren't for organ donors she wouldn't be alive.

She plans to speak to students at her high school, Turner Ashby, and at other schools in the Valley about the importance of being an organ donor, indicating that intent on a driver license and telling family members about that decision.

But she doesn't want to limit her reach to just the Valley. She wants to make organ donation education mandatory in all Virginia ninth grade health classes. Del. Richard P. "Dickie" Bell, R.-Staunton, plans to help.

He is drafting a bill she has proposed that would require 30 minutes of organ and tissue donation education in all ninth-grade health classes.

"I found it very interesting and thought it was a terrific idea," Bell said of Shinaberry's proposal. "I've agreed to put in the time to make this happen."

There are more than 110,000 Americans waiting for a life-saving organ transplant — 3,000 in Virginia — and every day an average of 18 people in the United States die while waiting.

Shinaberry thinks education can help.

"I want them to know the shocking statistics," Shinaberry said. "About how much of a difference you can make."

Virginia students usually hear about organ donation in driver's education, which is often after they've obtained a learner's permit and answered whether or not they'll be donors.

Only 15 of the 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico offer any form of organ donation education, and only five offer separate classroom instruction on the topic. Bell's bill would include an opt-out clause for anyone who might be opposed to organ donation.