Sixty-four people are alive today because 27 organ donors from Corpus Christi chose to share the gift of life this year.
“One person’s decision to donate can save up to 8 lives through organ donations and affect 75 lives through tissue donations,” said Jennifer Wickliffe, regional supervisor with Southwest Transplant Alliance.
Here in Corpus Christi Driscoll Children’s Hospital is the only place organ transplant surgeries take place.
Wickliffe says organ donations are scarce and right now in Texas more than 10,000 people are waiting for a life saving transplant.
“In the United States there is more than 110,000 people waiting,” said Wickliffe.
On average, Wickliffe says 20 people die every day because the organs they needed were not donated in time.
So, the Southwest Transplant Alliance works to register people to become organ donors, so that donors and their families may leave a legacy of kindness and altruism through the person who’s life has been saved.
“When they get that call they are very very ill and it is a second chance at life for them to actually live through someone else who gave the gift of life,” said Wickliffe.
The hope is that wearing blue and green today will bring awareness to organ donations and ultimately save more lives.
“On someone’s darkest day we’re a silver lining,” said Wickliffe.
For more information on how you can become an organ donor you can visit DonateLifeTexas.org
