The other side of organ donation
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By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
In recognition of April being National Donate Life Month, last week’s edition included a report highlighting the importance of considering organ donation, sharing Amy Gilliland’s story of being a two-time organ recipient.
But what about the other side of organ donation, family members who have lost loved ones and must make the decision whether to donate their organs?
While Donate Life reports that one organ, eye and tissue donor can heal and save more than 75 lives, it is also reported that 13 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
As of April 10, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reports that there are 104,931 waiting list candidates total. Of those, 90,749 are on the waiting list for a kidney and 9,055 for a liver.
A total of 7,816 transplants were performed in January and February. Of those, 1,102 were from living donors, with the remaining 6,714 being from deceased donors.
While some choose to register as an organ donor and are listed in a database, others may not have the opportunity to make the choice or might not get around to it for various reasons. In some instances, hospital staff or representatives with the OPTN will consult with family members after a loss to discuss the opportunity for donation.
While many recognize the importance of considering organ donation, it can also be difficult on families to consider such a decision so soon after a loss. Such was the case for one Coosa County resident when faced with this difficult decision after enduring multiple significant losses at once.
Anniversaries of the passing of loved ones are often difficult, and that holds true for Amanda Kimsey, local resident and E-911 director for Coosa County. With such an anniversary on the horizon, she has been reflecting on her decision a year ago in light of it being National Donate Life Month and wanted to share her side of organ donation.
“April 15 will be a year that we lost my daughter and grandsons,” she said.
She recalled that horrific day and the days that followed, with her losing three loved ones as the result of a wreck.
“Due to an irresponsible driver and company, I was told my daughter lost her life when I got to the scene of the accident,” Kimsey said. “I tried so hard to get to her in the car. They told my husband and me that my grandsons were in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.”
Once arriving at the hospital, she got to be with her son-in-law, and they were told that they had gotten a heartbeat back on both boys and were trying to get them stable enough to fly.
“We got to see them in the trauma units,” she said. “I even pulled Matthew Reams in to pray over them and try to have hope.”
A while later the family was able to walk out with the young boys to the helicopters. They were then flown to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.
“No one can prepare you for the trauma, anger, fear, or the images you see,” Kimsey said. “You are really put through hell for 72 hours. Once a heartbeat has been restarted and on life support you have to wait about 72 hours to see if there is any brain activity.”
Unfortunately, the 72 hours ended in more sorrow for Kimsey and her already grieving family as her two young grandsons passed away.
“On April 18 when they told us the boys were gone, I wanted everyone to leave me and my son-in-law alone, just wanted to get out of the hospital,” she said. “I was stopped by one of the directors with Legacy of Hope asking me to talk to them about organ donation. I refused; I told them to leave my son-in-law alone.”
However, as she thought about it, she decided to discuss it with her son-in-law to see what he thought.
“Finally I gave in and went to talk to him about talking to them,” she said. “He jumped up and said yes, something good needs to come from this tragedy. I am so proud of my son-in-law. He has a heart of gold and has been so strong.”
Ultimately, the decision was made to allow her grandsons to be organ donors, a difficult but life-saving decision.
“We received letters and phone calls I believe saying nine lives were saved,” Kimsey said. “We were also told that if we wanted to we could meet the recipients, as long as everyone agrees. Maybe one day we can. I know it will be hard, but I would love to hear the heartbeats of the lives my grandsons saved. To know, in some way, they are living on.”
Kimsey has words of advice for others and encourages them to try to help others if they can.
“We think it will never happen to us, not my family,” she said. “It does happen. We don’t live in a fairy tale, but we can try to help others. Be aware of what you do daily, from a mother that has lost a lot and half of her world, Amber, River and Ridge Trong.”
