'If It Weren't For Adrienne, I Would Not Be Here,' UMMS Commemorates Donate Life Month
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- For its fourth year, the University of Maryland Medical System commemorated Donate Life Month, an initiative to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors, and to celebrate those who have saved lives through donation.
For Adrienne Jordan, the initiative is deeply personal.
Jordan's son died at the age of 22. She decided to donate her son's organs.
"I miss my son," Jordan said. "He was 22-years-old, but at least I know there are still parts of him that still live and gave people the gift of life. Thank you."
Nationwide, 100,000 people are on wait lists for organ transplants.
Last year, the University performed 500 transplants.
"If it weren't for Adrienne, who donated six organs on behalf of her son, I would not be here and I would not be speaking to anybody," Stan Kotler, an organ recipient, said.
For medical personnel, an organ donation never feels routine.
"It's a difficult thing," Thomas Scalea, a doctor at Shock Trauma, said. "It's always an emotionally laden conversation, but it's part of our mission and it's an important part of our mission."
To learn more about Donate Life Month, you can click here.
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