Celebrating National Donate Life Month in Wyoming

National Donate Life Month was a huge success in the state of Wyoming this year! Natrona County DA and heart recipient, Mike Blonigen, helped us kick off the month with a flag raising ceremony at Wyoming Medical Center. Elsewhere across the state, there were celebrations and tributes recognizing the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. National Donate Life Month Banners could be seen flying high over Cody and Powell, and in Buffalo, high school students participated in our Transplantation Science program where they learned first-hand about the science behind the transplantable organs and how they function.

In Casper, we partnered with Keep Casper Beautiful, to plant 10 trees in Meadow Park in honor of organ, eye and tissue donors. We had a great turnout with several dozen people showing up to lend a hand, including heart recipients Mike Blonigen and Jason Wynia, and their friends and family. Participants noted that it was a wonderful way for them to give back and honor the generous gifts of organ, eye and tissue donors.

We rounded out the month with the Wyoming Donor Dash in Casper. Despite the cold, snowy weather, nearly 130 people gathered to run or walk in honor of organ, eye and tissue donors and recipients. Before the race, participants heard from donor and recipient families, and released green and blue balloons in memory of their loved ones.

To close out the festivities, we were joined by several donor families at the Wyoming Medical Center to lower the Donate Life flag and reflect on the mission of Donate Life Wyoming. In all, April presented many opportunities to inspire others and bring awareness to the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. We would like to sincerely thank everyone that helped to make National Donate Life Month such a success. We couldn’t do it without you!