According to the Donor Alliance, one organ donor can save up to eight lives and a tissue donation can affect up to 75 individuals. Sheriff A.J. Smith of Franklin County, Florida, knows firsthand how life-changing the decision to donate can be. When dialysis and other treatments weren’t producing positive outcomes, he underwent a successful kidney transplant.
“When I had the disease, when it was really affecting me, it was hard to get up early in the morning. I mean, I was struggling a lot of mornings. I couldn’t function all day. I couldn’t do my job the way I wanted to. And now I’m like a spring chicken,” Smith told WMBB News.
So when National Donate Life Month rolled around in April, Smith wanted to make sure his deputies and the public learned more about the incredible impact of organ donation. With a little creativity, he produced a special law enforcement badge promoting the need for and importance of agreeing to be a donor.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand it because it’s never impacted them. ….[I]f it was one of their family members that needed a heart or a kidney, they would get it,” he said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in Nevada also took time to spread the word about organ donations. First responders from multiple agencies in the Las Vegas region kicked off the month with the fourth annual Silver State Heroes Challenge, a competition to see which organization could generate the most outreach in the month. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department entered this year’s challenge as the reigning champ.
K-9 officers from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Police Department, Nevada State Police and Henderson Police Department joined community volunteers on the UNLV campus for the Dogs, Donuts & Donate Life event. As students and others met with the officers and enjoyed their treats, they learned about organ, eye and tissue donations.
“It’s something that’s a personal choice, something that you need to speak [about] with your family, but it’s always a good thing because you’re giving life to somebody else in the future,” State Trooper Shawn Haggstrom told KSNV News.
Donate Life offers information on organ donation and how to join the national registry.
