Media Training Question #69 – How Does Someone Donate A Heart and A Kidney And Live?

Feb. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- At Emory University Hospital on Monday, Kevin Jordan, a talented baseball player and a sure shot to one day make a Major League Baseball roster received the gift of life after finding out that he had a rare condition that slowed his kidney function to the point where dialysis was his only option for survival and his dream of playing baseball had suddenly become just that:  a dream.  But the road to his survival and a certain future in MLB is a story worth sharing.

Last spring, Tom Walter, the head baseball coach at Emory University saw great raw talent in Kevin Jordan and successfully recruited this young talent for his college roster and anxiously awaited his arrival on campus this fall as they would begin training and preparing for the upcoming baseball season.  Jordan, who had recently been drafted in the 19th round of the MLB draft, was excited about shaping his future when suddenly he started feeling punk and tired all the time.  Attributing it to 95 degree weather and high humidity he ignored the signs until it was clear something was wrong.  Diagnosed with a disease that effects 1 in 50,000 people Kevin Jordan was immediately put on dialysis and a search was on for a donor, which it hard enough in itself but to further complicate things he has Type O Negative blood, the rarest.  Further bad news came when all family members tested as not compatible as a donor.

Enter Coach Walker, who as head baseball coach in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina dedicated many days to helping his players and their families rebuild their homes asked Kevin Jordan’s father what he could do to help his budding new outfielder at Emory University.  Inquiring whether or not he might be a match, Coach Walker made the decision to see if he would be a match and after a month of testing the news came that he was indeed a match and for Tom Walker the decision made itself: yes he would donate a kidney!

So on this past Monday the two men entered separate operating rooms and as the coach went through his procedure Kevin Jordan waited for his procedure.  Hours later the doctors exclaimed that both procedures were a success and as of yesterday Kevin Jordan was told that there is no reason why in eight weeks he can’t pick up a bat and start on his road to recovery.

I have some personal interest in this story as my sister Ann Marie donated a kidney to my brother some years back that gave him at least another 7 years of life he would never have had.  Organ donation is a gift and what my sister did and what Coach Walker did involves courage and caring beyond belief.

I don’t believe there is a more selfless act than organ donation, either in life or in death and if you are healthy you should seriously consider your position on this critical issue as thousands of people sit on a waiting list praying for the miracle Kevin Jordan received this week, but for every story like Kevin’s there are thousands more that are not so inspiring and many people die each year waiting on an organ that never comes.

I honestly believe that people who donate organs while alive are also donating a part of their heart as well.  It requires bravery and courage to voluntarily give a life sustaining organ to someone not knowing your own future health fate.  Think about the gravity of that? Think about that sacrifice and think about the how amazing it must be to know that because of your selfless act someone will live longer, a family will have more time, and dreams that were quickly dashed will be restored.  Think about the “pebble in the pond” effect of organ donation and all of the untold stories that would have never happened without these gifts.  Think about the how the people who were saved were able to contribute to so much and think about erasing these people and the potential effect that would have on society.  Organ donation is not just about saving one life.

According to the website DonateLife.net:
Although there have been advances in medical technology and donation, the demand for organ, eye and tissue donation still vastly exceeds the number of donors. For more information, read the summary below or create a detailed data report on the UNOS Web site.
•   More than 100,000 men, women and children currently need life-saving organ transplants.
•   Every 10 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 2009, there were 8,021 deceased organ donors and 6,610 living organ donors resulting in 28,465 organ transplants.
•   Last year, more than 42,000 grafts were made available for transplant by eye banks within the United States.
•   According to research, 98% of all adults have heard about organ donation and 86% have heard of tissue donation.
•   90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor.

Clearly the need exists for more donors and clearly we need more Coach Walker’s and Ann Marie’s and if you can find it in your heart to help, please do so because to donate part of your heart that allows you to donate an organ from your body does more than just save a life or a family, it save a future for all of us.

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As the host of his own nationally syndicated radio programs for 15 years, Tony has interviewed over 25,000 guests and appeared as a guest on over 800 radio and national television shows. He founded of his own public relations firm and he went on to author two books and became a “go to” authority on a myriad of issues from weight loss to self empowerment; from politics to pop culture. His list of media training clients number over 2000, many of them well known celebrities and authors. He and enjoys of the challenge of helping people discover their voice.Tony is respected and well known for his honesty and willingness to do what it takes to get to a core message. He works tirelessly with his clients and advocates for his clients in finding the most passionate and profound tenets of their message and then giving them the tools to deliver that message. http://www.mediatraining.me