Resource Newsletter Archive
New Tissue Services Brochure Highlights Donation Decision
“How is a donation arranged? How is tissue recovered? Is a regular funeral possible? Is there a cost for donation?”
The Northwest Tissue Services has produced a new brochure, designed to respond to these questions, educate the public about tissue donation, and give interested individuals a concrete way to specify their wishes.
“A Bone Transplant Gave Me Back My Life” not only tells the story of two allograft recipients, it answers commonly asked questions and explains the wide variety of injuries, degenerative conditions, and diseases treated by donations of bone, soft tissue, skin, heart valves, and vascular tissue.
In addition, the brochure, printed on sturdy card stock, provides a wallet-sized tear-out Uniform Donor Card on which an individual can indicate his or her desire to donate. A message printed above the donor card stresses the importance of discussing a decision with family members, so that intention to donate can be honored.
Robert Takagi, whose late wife Marianne was a tissue donor, offers this quote on the comfort of carrying out her request: “Marianne was a person who loved people and was happiest when she made others happy. That's why I know she's smiling.”
Recipients' stories and photos also confirm the benefits of donation. New Zealanders Afi Ah Kuoi and his daughter Amy flew to Seattle to thank his tissue donor's parents, Veronica and Clifford Perkins. Teenager Jocelyn Pain was able to run 40 miles per week in cross-country competitions after receiving an allograft. Both Afi and Jocelyn suffered from bone cancers that would have required a leg amputation without the generous gifts of donors, whose family members honored their wishes.
The brochure also answers the questions it raises: Donations are arranged through hospitals and the Tissue Services; tissue is recovered in a sterile surgical procedure in an operating room setting; tissue donation should not alter funeral plans and will not interfere with viewing arrangements; and donation involves no monetary expense or recompense to the family.
To order copies of “A Bone Transplant Gave Me Back My Life,” call the Tissue Services at 1-800-858-2282. An additional brochure, designed to explain allograft transplants to potential recipients, will soon be available as well.