National Donor Day: the impact of organ and tissue donations

Mark Starr said he had his first cardiac arrest episode in 2010.

“That’s when your heart just starts going wonky and it just vibrates and it doesn’t pump blood right and down you go,” Starr said.  “And I fractured my skull.”

He said over the next few years, despite having a defibrillator and pace maker, things continued to go downhill.  He said it became difficult to climb stairs and even take a shower.

“That’s congestive heart failure,” Starr said.  “The cardiac arrest is a great way to die, I thought, because I’d just shut off my defibrillator and I’ll be gone quick, painless.”

But some doctors thought otherwise.  They said they had a heart available to transplant into him.

In 2014, Starr received that heart, at 60 years old.

He said he went through a grueling rehab, but that by 2016 he was able to climb stairs, ride his bike and go snorkeling.

The organ donation group called Live On Nebraska said Starr’s story is not uncommon.  They said 300 organ transplants were performed in Nebraska last year and that there are currently more than 400 Nebraskans waiting for an organ transplant.  The most needed organ: kidneys.

Live On Nebraska said one deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives.

One such donor was 17–year–old Brianna Titterington, who died following a car crash south of Lincoln last March.

“She was able to save five lives,” said April Jensen, Brianna’s mother.

Jensen said she had her organs donated because she believes in donation and that that was the only good that could come out of losing her young daughter.

“I felt like it was the biggest tragedy that could’ve ever happened to our family,” Jensen said.  “And in the end, I have a lot of peace in my heart for knowing that she saved five people.  She lives on and she’s not just gone.”

In Mr. Starr’s case, it was a young man’s heart that saved him.

“Those kinds of gifts — those sacrificial gifts — it’s an amazing gift to be able to give another life,” he said.

Live On Nebraska said anyone older than 16 can register as an organ and tissue donor regardless of age, health or lifestyle.  But they said only 56 percent of eligible Nebraskans are registered.

If you would like more information or want to register online, visit: https://liveonnebraska.org/