Donate Life celebration
Oviedo, FL — Oviedo Medical Center, part of HCA Florida Healthcare, is encouraging Central Florida residents to share the gift of life by becoming an organ and tissue donor. The hospital hosted a special ceremony yesterday with donor program OurLegacy to thank the families of organ donors and honor their loved ones as well as the healthcare professionals who help make the gift of life possible.
Among the speakers at the event were Chris and Laura Dawkins, whose daughter Brooke became an organ donor after a tragic accident. Brooke gave the gift of life and sight to six people.
“Brooke was an accomplished UCF student and beloved Kappa Delta sorority sister who filled those around her with love, joy and laughter,” Chris and Laura Dawkins, parents of Donor Hero Brooke Dawkins, shared. “She had a personality larger than life. She was a very special girl who truly loved life and her family. Brooke was a registered organ donor, and as her family, we knew and honored her wish. We are grateful for the care teams who helped honor Brooke’s decision to save lives. Through the coordinated efforts of doctors, nurses, OurLegacy, and the love of God, Brooke’s donation of her heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and both corneas have given others the gift of life and sight. Her indomitable spirit lives on through the Brookestrong Foundation and the lives that she touched with her generosity.”
HCA Florida Healthcare celebrates National Donate Life Month throughout April to encourage people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those who have saved countless lives through donation. Over the past five years, Oviedo Medical Center has cared for seven organ donors who have given 21 individuals the gift of life. Additionally, the facility has had 15 eye donors and five tissue donors.
“It is inspiring and incredibly meaningful to be able to be able to help facilitate an individual’s final wish to allow another to live a healthier life through the gift of organ donation,” said Joseph Everette, chief nursing officer at Oviedo Medical Center. “One organ donor can save as many as eight lives. Please consider registering as an organ donor and sharing your wishes with your family.”
HCA Florida Healthcare partners with the federally designated organ procurement organization OurLegacy to offer hope through organ donation to families experiencing the loss of a loved one.
“Our caring and compassionate clinical partners strengthen our lifesaving mission,” said OurLegacy Executive Director Ginny McBride. “We congratulate and celebrate Oviedo Medical Center for its part in caring for families and saving lives through the miracle of donation. Today, more than 100,000 Americans await a lifesaving transplant, and with strong partnerships like this, we see hope in giving a second chance to all who wait.”
Living donation offers another option for kidney or liver transplant candidates, and it saves two lives: the recipient and the next one on the deceased organ waiting list. Kidney or liver patients who are able to receive a living donor transplant may be able to receive the organ much sooner, often before becoming too sick or starting dialysis. HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of living organ transplants.
Currently there are nearly 105,000 children and adults on a waiting list for a lifesaving transplant, according to OurLegacy. More information on Transplant services.