Audio clip
Lisa Rousseau
After Lisa Rousseau lost her daughter to a brain injury, she made the decision to let her death provide life for someone else.
She donated her child's organs.
"No parent wants to ever think of your child as an organ donor," said Ms. Rousseau, the mother of Jessie Starnes, who died in March 2008 at age 10.
"Even though you've got such a loss and a such a hurt, there can be something positive come out of it if you choose to do that," she said.
Ms. Rousseau shared the story of her decision Tuesday, just before officials from Erlanger hospital and T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital were presented with the state Department of Health and Human Services Department's medal of honor for organ donation.
BY THE NUMBERS
* More than 100,000 men, women and children currently need organ transplants.
* Every 11 minutes, another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.
* An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.
* In 2008, there were 7,984 deceased organ donors and 6,218 living organ donors resulting in 27,961 organ transplants.
Source: Donate Life America
The state department and Donate Life Tennessee, an organ donor advocacy group, recognized both hospitals for their success in increasing organ donations.
The hospitals were given the awards for sustaining national goals for donation, including a donation rate of 75 percent or more from eligible donors, said Denise Fugatt, Tennessee Donor Services senior hospital services coordinator.
"We're doing better working with families, we're doing better at caring for patients, (and) we're doing better at optimizing organ donation opportunities," Ms. Fugatt.
The number of people donating organs is getting better in the area, but more are needed, she said. About 100,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ nationwide, and about 22,000 people are Tennesseans, she said. At least 18 people on the list die every day, she said.
"We're trying to save lives," Ms. Fugatt said. "The process has improved, but there's still a lot of people that need an organ."
This is the second year Erlanger has received this award and the first year for T.C. Thompson in the children's category, said Erlanger CEO Jim Brexler.
"It's really good news that we've got programing in this community that can support transplants," Mr. Brexler said. "But the most good news is for the families who are waiting to have an organ donated."
Joy Lukachick covers crime in North Georgia for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She started working at the paper in July 2009 as an intern. Raised near the Bayou, Joy’s hometown is along the outskirts of Baton Rouge, La. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Joy was a staff writer for the Daily Reveille. When Joy isn't chasing down stories, she is a full-time supporter of ...
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