Organ donation can be the ultimate gift

I’m Brett Milam, communications associate with LifeCenter Organ Donor Network (LifeCenter), the nonprofit organ procurement organization (OPO) serving Greater Cincinnati, including Clermont County. At LifeCenter, we facilitate the recovery of organs, eyes and tissue for transplantation.

Longtime readers of The Clermont Sun may remember me as the Editor from January 2017 to May 2022. My great passion was telling your stories, and putting a face to them. Fortunately, through my work at Lifecenter, I’m not done telling stories — now, the stories I tell are about how donation can save, heal, and change lives in our community. Donation is the ultimate gift, giving someone a second chance at life and better well-being, but it also brings comfort to the donor’s family that their loved one gave the gift.

Gail Randall, who was the mother-in-law to Erica Randall, LifeCenter’s Community Engagement Associate, lost her battle with cancer in 2022. She was still able to give the gift of sight to two others through cornea donation.

“Knowing Gail helped others gave us light in our moment of darkness,” Erica Randall said. “Gail will forever be our shining light and her recipient’s hero.”

Understandably, members of the community have concerns and fears about joining the donor registry. Maybe you’ve heard information that steered you away from adding “organ donor” to your license while at the BMV. Whatever the case, let me address a few truths about donation with you:

• You can be a donor at any age. A West Virginia man donated the gift of his liver to a woman when he was 95 years old.

• Donation is still possible with many medical conditions, including cancer, like with Gail Randall, and Hepatitis C. Recipients who receive an organ infected with Hepatitis C will then be treated for Hepatitis C. That presents a better outcome than dying while waiting for an organ.

• There is no cost to you, your family, or your estate, if you become a donor. All costs are paid by the recipient’s insurance.

• Whole body donation is a laudable endeavor, but we encourage you to still sign up to be a donor because whole body donors can donate their corneas.

• You can still have an open casket funeral after donation. The body is always handled with care and dignity by LifeCenter before returning to the funeral home.

These are just some of the truths concerning donation, but one to keep front of mind is the great need. Currently, more than 2,600 men, women, and children in Ohio are waiting for a life-saving organ, with more than 500 of them listed in Cincinnati. But there are not enough donors registered to meet such demand.

To register your decision, you can do so at your local BMV, on their website, or at lifepassiton.org/register.

If you ever have any questions or concerns about donation, we would be happy to present to your organization, church, school, or veteran’s group. I’m also happy to answer questions directly at [email protected] .

Brett Milam is the Communications Associate with LifeCenter.