Learn How to “Give the Gift of Life”
Learn How to “Give the Gift of Life”
Local Organ Donors and Recipients Shared Their Stories at Ellicottville Central Schools “Donate Life Day” this Past Friday
Photos / ellicottvilleNOW
We all have heard about organ donations. I’m sure we’ve all looked at that little box when we were at the DMV thinking, “Should I donate my organs?” “Doesn’t that seem weird?” “I’m not sure how I feel about that.” I, myself was hesitant back when I was younger. It seemed like a huge commitment to promise organs to a stranger. But honestly, it’s way easier now that I’ve learned how one little check mark can impact someone else’s life. Last Friday, the ellicottvilleNOW team was invited to Ellicottville Central School to attend the Donate Life Day assembly. And it was a humbling, eye-opening experience.
With the gymnasium packed full of middle and high school students and a few special guests, principal Erich Ploetz kicked off the assembly by asking everyone to give their full attention to this important topic.
We learned a lot of detailed information about donation that I wasn’t aware of. Such as the fact that New York State has the lowest rate of donation out of any state in the U.S., that there are two ways to be an organ donor - both living and donation upon event of death - and that being a living donor is a more complicated process as there are many tests to undergo to make sure that you are a perfect match to the person you are donating to in order to best avoid organ rejection.
With all of these facts in mind, we heard many stories from teachers and students of ECS that have been effected by organ donation. It takes tremendous courage and passion to share these stories. For them to openly discuss those personal feelings with strangers, to be able to hear them, it was such a moving experience.
The first tribute was to past ECS student Kristen Hintz (cousin of teacher Tammy Peters). Kristen was killed in a car accident when she was a senior. As described by Tammy, she was a loving person who always cared about other people. She was a registered organ donor and her donations granted many people the chance to live. Her heart went to a 10-year old girl in Georgia, her kidneys were given to two people in Buffalo, and her liver went to someone in New York City. Though one precious life was lost, she saved four other people, just by allowing her organs to be used after her passing.
Tammy then shared her own story. Tammy was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), which is a chronic liver disease that eventually narrows/blocks the bile ducts and causes liver damage. This can eventually lead to life-threatening complications such as liver failure. Amazingly, Tammy’s friend, Kelly McMahon (a retired ECS teacher) volunteered for the rigorous testing and came out as a perfect match. She donated part of her liver to Tammy on July 6, 2015 and both Tammy and Kelly are doing really well today.
We next heard the story of Anne Curtis and Amanda Kahn. Anne, a former ECS cafeteria worker, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Disease. Her granddaughter, Amanda, volunteered to be tested to see if she could share one of her kidneys. She was a match. In 2020, the procedure was performed and Anne received one of Amanda’s kidneys. Both ladies recovered quickly and are in great health today.
Sometimes life can be very hard, as the Palmatier family came to find when two of their sons, Evan and Camden, were diagnosed with PFIC-3 (Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis Type 3) which is a late-onset hereditary liver disease. I can’t even imagine how their parents, Todd and Shannon (a teacher at ECS) had to feel, knowing that both of their children would need major surgery to have any quality of life, or how the kids felt dealing with their illness. It had to be so hard for all of them. Fortunately, Evan received his “gift of life” from a deceased donor just 10 days before his 20th birthday and his brother Camden underwent a liver transplant from a living donor when he was just 14. Both boys are in great condition and living their lives as any young adult should.
The next story really showcases the power of social media. ECS student Harley Lafferty was in need of a kidney. She made a Facebook post hoping to find a living donor. Michelle Jacobson saw the post and made the decision to reach out to Harley and see if she could be her donor. They underwent the transplant surgery in 2019. Michelle said, “I didn’t feel different after donating and I still don’t. I’m so happy that I could help Harley.” Harley just expressed how grateful she was for Michelle.
Family played a key note in the next story. Ruth Weber is a second grader at ECS who was diagnosed with leukemia and was in great need of a bone marrow transplant. Her (at the time) 14-year old sister Adelaide stepped up and donated bone marrow and stem cells to her little sister. Her parents are so proud of what she did.
The last story we heard was about the ECS Speech Teacher, Alice Alessi. Her family has been on both sides of organ donation. As donors, John and Kristi Alessi both donated their organs posthumously and as receivers, David Alessi received a heart transplant in 2018.
Let’s go over some important facts that were brought to the assembly’s attention about the Donate Life organization and the process of organ donation:
• Donate Life is a non-profit organization.
• Every 9 minutes a person is added to the list of organ needing recipients. That’s 140 a day.
• 104,000 people are waiting for organs; over 8k in NY alone.
• Without donated organs, people die. 20 people die each day waiting for an organ.
• You can only donate your liver one time but you can donate bone marrow, stem cells,
blood/plasma multiple times.
• Donating blood is very important. There is always a huge need for all blood types.
• One kidney is a huge deal! (85% of donors are waiting for one of these.)
• You can donate over 60% of your liver and it grows back.
• One donor can save over 75 lives.
The assembly came to a close with Mr. Ploetz asking those present who would be willing to register as an organ donor after viewing the presentation. More than 75% off the students stood up to show their support!
We want to thank ECS for inviting us for this experience and we want to thank all the donors who came out and shared their stories with everyone. Please consider registering as a donor. It’s as easy as checking that box on your license at the DMV and you could be the reason someone else gets the chance to really live!
Visit donatelife.ny.org or connectlife.org (which is WNY’s only community blood bank) to find out more details on organ, tissue and blood donation and register to be an organ donor today.
