He joined staff at Fairview Park Hospital to launch National Donate Life Month to encourage people to consider organ donation.
DUBLIN, GA — Currently 103,223 people America I am on a national transplant waiting list. Most of them are waiting for a kidney transplant.
by Organ Procurement and Transplant NetworkSeventeen Americans die every day waiting for that list.
that’s why fairview park hospital opened the curtain National Donation Life Monthby recruiting donors for people like William Bailey, who received a liver transplant in 2018.
“I had a disease. It’s a genetic thing called alpha-1 gene deficiency,” Bailey said.
Then he received more bad news. Doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his liver.
“Last year before my transplant, to be honest, I was basically chained to my house,” Bailey said.
While waiting for a transplant, his life changed. He can no longer hold a job and the drugs he was taking have robbed him of his memory, all of which has affected his ability to sign autographs in the church choir. Ta. Faith Baptist Church.
“However, it progressed more quickly than expected when it was first discovered. I was told that I would need a liver transplant in about 10 years, but it ended up being about three years,” Bailey said.
While he was fighting his health, someone else in the United States was also fighting for their life. That person became the donor.
Tracy Ide works as a public relations manager. lifelink foundationGeorgia Organ Recovery Center.
“We only have one organ donor, but we have eight organs that can help someone else. And with all kinds of tissues and eyes, we can help up to 75 people. ” said Ide.
Ide said there are many misconceptions about organ donation, including that if someone is an organ donor, doctors won’t do everything they can to save their life. She said that was completely wrong.
“The doctors and nurses who are treating you to save your life are completely different from the professionals who donate your organs,” Ide said.
He said organ donation is free to donors and there are no medical conditions that completely exclude eligibility.
Bailey still cries when she thinks about the organ donor who saved her life in 2018.
“It’s really emotional. The fact of the matter is I wouldn’t be here today,” Bailey said.
He now has two children and seven grandchildren he didn’t know he would have but enjoys spending time with.
“There are many things I can do that are impossible,” he said.
Someone gave him the gift of life so he could sing in the choir again.
Approximately 3,000 people are currently waiting for life-saving organ transplants in Georgia. His 37% of Lawrence County residents are registered as donors.
