HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) — When people think Thanksgiving, they typically give thanks for their friends, family and, of course, the food, but Friday at Holyoke City Hall, one group shared their gratitude for something a little different: their organ donors.
For Elizabeth Gorman, a double lung transplant recipient, the gift of breath means everything. “I have my life back, I have a second chance,” Gorman said.
Glen Wiley, a liver recipient, called his transplant a miracle. “So it is, it’s a miracle of life,” Wiley said.
Mike Messer, father of two kidney recipients, remembers a life-changing phone call. “I will never forget I’ve never experienced anything like getting that call in the middle of the night and said, ‘It’s time to go, we’ve got a match,’” Messer said.
These are the things organ recipients from New England are grateful for this Thanksgiving season. For Gorman, she doesn’t wait until November to feel the gratitude. “Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to be grateful and give thanks and reflect on what you’re grateful for, but I do that every day and, every day, I am so grateful to be taking every breath that I am taking,” she explained.
These stories can only be told because of organ donors, something that New England Donor Services is hoping to promote. Every eight minutes, another person is added to the organ transplant waiting list. Every day, an average of 13 people die waiting on that list.
Becoming an organ donor is not difficult. The RMV asks every license applicant about donation. A small heart on a driver’s license indicates organ donor status. Every donor can save eight different lives and enhance 75 others. Every prospective donor provides the chance of life to the 103,000 people sitting on that waiting list. “Giving thanks for life is pretty darn powerful, so think about registering as an organ donor,” said Matt Boger, senior director of government relations for New England Donor Services.
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