Gift of Hope to express importance of organ donation within African American Community with flag-raising ceremony
CHICAGO (CBS) – It's National Minority Donor Awareness Month, and a mother whose son saved over two dozen lives through organ donation helped spread awareness during a flag-raising ceremony Thursday.
The event happened around 10 a.m. at Loretto Hospital, located at 645 S. Central Ave. in front of the Gift of Hope mural.
The ceremony included the raising of a 'Gift of Hope' flag presented to Catherine Porter in memory of her 18-year-old son Evan, whose donated organs saved the lives of 25 recipients. She also shared a poem written by Evan, entitled "My Afterglow," describing the legacy he and other organ donors leave the world through the gift of donation.
"Love your loved ones greater than you think you love. And give love to someone else. And I wanted to share my son with everyone," Porter said. "I know he's living somewhere in someone else."
It's a call to action to help encourage and reassure the African American community about organ and tissue donation.
Marlon Shuck, Vice President of Community Relations and External Affairs at Gift of Hope, says they are working to educate those about the process -- including registration.
"One of our pillars is education and outreach. We go out to the communities where people are whether they are in play, work, school, home to really disseminate the message about donation, but really to talk about the process of donation," Shuck said.
Shuck's husband also went on to become a donor following a cardiac episode during a bike ride three years ago.
"Anytime you have someone that says yes to donation you are saving and enhancing someone else's life," she said.
Gift of Hope partners with Loretta Hospital to address donation hesitancy within the community by tearing down the myths and misconceptions often associated with organ and tissue donation.
Black Americans are significantly more likely than White Americans to need an organ transplant but are disproportionately represented on the U.S. organ transplant list and underrepresented among organ donors.
Research shows that a greater diversity of donors increases access to transplantation for everyone and long-term survival is greater when the recipient and donor share a similar genetic background.
