By Antoinette Brasier
Youth Correspondent
The month of April is often associated with Easter, the end of ski season and sporadic spring weather. April is also considered National Donate Life Month, promoting organ transplant awareness and encouraging people to become donors. This reporter wanted to learn more, so I reached out to a local organization involved in the field to see why organ donation is so important.
The Sopris Sun interviewed Jessi Rochel, the executive director of the Chris Klug Foundation (CKF), and to start off asked what the CKF does and what its goals are.
“We are passionate advocates for donation and transplantation, as well as staunch supporters for past, present and future donors and recipients,” she replied. “CKF uses the stories of organ donors, transplant candidates and transplant recipients to inspire, alongside events, school courses and webinars to educate.”
The end goal, according to Rochel, is to encourage “individuals to give the gift of life and register as organ donors. However,” she added, “We still understand and respect a person’s right to make the decision that is best for them when it comes to registering as a donor.”
The executive director shared how the foundation began. The founder of the organization, Chris Klug, “was 21-years-old when he discovered he needed a transplant,” Rochel said. “He spent almost six years on the waitlist before receiving his transplant.” Eighteen months after surgery, he won a Bronze Medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Later, he started the CKF to promote lifesaving organ, eye and tissue donation; as well as to improve the quality of life for those touched by transplantation, she explained.
The CKF is partnering with Donor Alliance, a nonprofit organization based out of Denver, to host awareness events and campaigns to educate prospective donors. Rochel says that the CKF believes it “is vital to educate kids [and adults too, of course] about organ, eye and tissue donation so that they are able to make educated and informed decisions about registering as donors.”
Jessi went on to explain that when teenagers register to get their driver’s permit or license, they often don’t know what to do when asked if they’d like to be an organ donor. For that very reason, the CKF educates children about organ donation so that they “know what their answer is going to be before they even set foot in the door” of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Rochel stated.
Rochel shared that 96% of Americans support the cause, but only 54% of them are actually registered as organ donors. “Donation and transplantation suffer from several myths and misconceptions” she continued, and that can deter people from registering. But, the CKF “works to dispel” those myths and educate people with factual information.
One such myth is that a person can be too old or too young to be a donor. This is what Rochel had to say about that: “The youngest organ donor in the world was only 74-minutes-old when her parents donated her liver cells and kidneys. And, the oldest tissue donor in the world was 107 when she donated her corneas.”
It does not matter what somebody’s sexual orientation, gender identity (or expression), race, ethnicity, income or social status is, they are all eligible to be organ donors and recipients. Another concern some people have before signing up to be an organ donor is past illnesses or sexually transmitted diseases — specifically HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).
The HOPE (HIV Organ Policy Equity) Act made organ donation and transplantation possible between a donor and recipient who both are HIV-positive, Rochel explained, debunking the notion that an HIV-positive person wouldn’t have the opportunity to be a donor.
Seven-thousand children and adults die each year while awaiting an organ transplant. Rochel went on to explain that every nine-minutes someone is added to the organ transplant wait list, and that adds up to 160 people each day. During Donate Life Month, these staggering facts are being passed onto Colorado residents, to encourage people of all ages, histories and identities to register to become donors.
As someone who is about to get their driver’s license in the next few months, this reporter feels ready to answer the DMV when asked about being an organ donor.
The CKF is committed to sharing stories and experiences so that more lives might be saved. Visit www.chrisklugfoundation.org for more information.