National Donor Recognition Ceremony

[Fr Pat]

     Every 2 years the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services holds, in Washington D.C. a "National Donor Recognition Ceremony" to honor deceased donors, donor families and living donors. It includes organ, tisue, eye and bone-marrow stem cell donors, and recipients are also encouraged to participate. This year the ceremony will be on Sunday, July 17, 2011, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel. I attended once about 8 years ago, and at the ceremony each living donor and donor family received a medallion and a Certificate of Appreciation. That morning and the preceeding day there are workshops and other activities, including workshops just for living donors. Most of the participants, of course, were donor families and recipients.
     There is no registration fee, but each participant pays their own food, lodging, transportation, etc. But registration is required ao they know how many to plan for. The date is set, but the registration forms and schedule might not be ready yet. When available they will be at www.organdonor.gov/materialsOpoRecognitionws.asp or by contacting the National Donor Family Council at donorfamily@kidney.org or calling 800-622-9010
     When I went I very much enjoyed meeting other living donors, including some I only "knew" from messages here.
           Fr. Pat

[sperouty]

Thanks for posting this Father Pat.  I e-mailed them to be added to their mailing list.  I also recently received something about an Organ Donor Worshop Johns Hopkins Hospital is having in May.  Have a great day!

[Michael]

I turned on the WABAC machine and found these photos from the 2003 ceremony:

https://livingdonorsonline.org/ndrc/ndrc01.htm

[Fr Pat]

Dear Michael,
      Great pictures, and great memories! Thanks for posting them.
      Cristina (in the fotos) by the way had the fastest donation story I have ever heard of. Her infant nephew was suddenly diagnosed with total liver failure, and was expected to die within days unless a liver-lobe transplant could be done. If I remember right, about one week elapsed between the time she found out he was sick and the time she donated the liver-lobe successfully.
     Humorous note; later her family gave her a bumper-sticker saying "I left my liver in Atlanta". Seeing it in her University parking lot one day someone commented to her: "Boy, that must have been some party!"
          Fr. Pat

[BillCtheYounger]

Hi all,

I have not been on for a long while, so my registration lapsed.
I was LBI_Bill, now BillCtheYounger (I donated to my dad, he is also Bill C - cause of much confusion at the hospital.)

So, are any of you going to the Nat'l Donor Recognition Ceremony?
I just signed up and would like to meet you!

Take care,

Bill