Every day, 22 people die waiting for an organ transplant. None of us know when our time will be up but by registering to be an organ donor we could help one or maybe even 8 of those people.
April is National Donate Life Month. Throughout the month, next to our country and state flag another blows in the breeze. The Donate Life flag may be unfamiliar to most but to the people affected, it has all the meaning in the world.
“In March 2015, I lost the youngest of my five daughters, Susannah Badders, in an unspeakable tragedy on Route 50 just outside of Annapolis,” said Katherine Badders.
A car crashed into 19-year-old Susannah’s car. Her father in the backseat died instantly. Susannah and her boyfriend sitting in the front were flown to Shock Trauma.
“I had her chicken and rice warming in the oven when the phone rang and her older sister, her voice shaking told me that something awful had happened and that I should get myself to Shock Trauma as fast as possible,” said Badders.
The next day, Susannah and her boyfriend were declared brain dead. In the most painful time of her life, Katherine Badders had a difficult decision to make.
“To honor my daughter and her generous spirit would mean to allow her, even in her untimely death, to meaningfully help others in need. To send hope where hope was fading, to make a critical difference just as she had done in life, and I let her go,” said Badders.
Through organ donation, Susannah helped three people. People like Ralph Davis whose 37-year-old heart donor gave him the gift of life.
“They gave me more years with my wife. He gave me the opportunity to see my sons graduate from college. I got the opportunity to see my kids get married and despite how I look, I got to see some of my kids have kids, which makes me yes, a grandfather,” said Ralph.
Susannah and Ralph are one of many stories that have come out of the University of Maryland Medical Center where more than 8,000 transplants have been performed.
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“As we understand more, as new drugs are developed, our success rates are the best they've ever been. We're transplanting new organs and new tissues. This month we just finished celebrating our 5th anniversary of our face transplant patient,” said Dr. Rolf Barth, the head of the division of transplantation for the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine.
Along with the advances in science, they need the people who make these miracles happen. The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland is asking that people consider these stories, take notice of the Donate Life flags flying high this month, and join their life-saving mission by registering as an organ donor.
“It's really just that premise of gratitude and community and that we want to help people all around us at the time of our death,” said Charlie Alexander, president and CEO of The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland.
You can register as an organ donor at the Motor Vehicle Administration, by signing up online, or by making your wishes known to your family.
Follow Mallory Sofastaii on Twitter @MalloryABC2 and on Facebook @mallorysofastaii
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