By JEREMY H. DICKMAN | Sun News Editor, Michigan
In addition to tonight’s full show of racing, the schedule has a UMP Modified Girls $500 to Win Special plus the Lil’ Bud Shootout Mt. Pleasant and Clare Automotive Stock Minis $200 to Win Special. To top it off, representatives from the Gift of Life Michigan will be at the race track with information on organ and tissue donation. Fans can also sign-up on site to become a donor.
“Our mission is to share information with people in the community,” said Gift of Life Michigan volunteer Joanne Dupuis. “We want to help people understand the importance of organ donation and help them get a better understanding of who can donate and help them make an informed decision.”
Currently Dupuis said there are 3,000 people in Michigan waiting for organs, but it is known that 25 percent, or 750 people, will die while waiting for the donation.
An adult needing a heart or kidney donation can wait for several years, she said.
In Isabella County, Dupuis said only 38 percent of those eligible are registered donors, while Michigan ranks 42nd nationwide in number of people registered as donors.
“If every person eligible to donate did, there would be no waiting list,” Dupuis said.
To become an organ or tissue donor there are no restrictions, Dupuis said, people simply need to provide their driver license number, or complete address and full name and can become instantly approved.
“If it’s keeping you alive, it can do something to keep someone else alive,” Dupuis said.
One common misconception with potential donors is that if they become a donor they will not receive the same treatment should they be in an emergency care situation.
“The only way to donate an organ is if you are dead,” Dupuis said. “People who donate are donors who are brain dead – it’s completely irreversible.”
While the most common organ donated is the kidneys, Dupuis said every organ is considered including corneas, which can help reverse blindness.
Children and even babies also need transplants, for kids born with defects, Dupuis said.
“It doesn’t cost anything to become a donor or slow down the funeral process,” Dupuis said.
One person donating can save eight lives with an organ donation.
“I think most people would save a life if they could,” Dupuis said.
For more information on Gift of Life Michigan or becoming an organ or tissue donor go to www.giftoflifemichigan.org/become_a_donor?tag=children.
“Our mission is to share information with people in the community,” said Gift of Life Michigan volunteer Joanne Dupuis. “We want to help people understand the importance of organ donation and help them get a better understanding of who can donate and help them make an informed decision.”
Currently Dupuis said there are 3,000 people in Michigan waiting for organs, but it is known that 25 percent, or 750 people, will die while waiting for the donation.
An adult needing a heart or kidney donation can wait for several years, she said.
In Isabella County, Dupuis said only 38 percent of those eligible are registered donors, while Michigan ranks 42nd nationwide in number of people registered as donors.
“If every person eligible to donate did, there would be no waiting list,” Dupuis said.
To become an organ or tissue donor there are no restrictions, Dupuis said, people simply need to provide their driver license number, or complete address and full name and can become instantly approved.
“If it’s keeping you alive, it can do something to keep someone else alive,” Dupuis said.
One common misconception with potential donors is that if they become a donor they will not receive the same treatment should they be in an emergency care situation.
“The only way to donate an organ is if you are dead,” Dupuis said. “People who donate are donors who are brain dead – it’s completely irreversible.”
While the most common organ donated is the kidneys, Dupuis said every organ is considered including corneas, which can help reverse blindness.
Children and even babies also need transplants, for kids born with defects, Dupuis said.
“It doesn’t cost anything to become a donor or slow down the funeral process,” Dupuis said.
One person donating can save eight lives with an organ donation.
“I think most people would save a life if they could,” Dupuis said.
For more information on Gift of Life Michigan or becoming an organ or tissue donor go to www.giftoflifemichigan.org/become_a_donor?tag=children.
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment