Cobertura Reciente en los Medios

Finding Triumph in Tragedy: Honoring My Sons Gift of Life

Join me in raising awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation this holiday season as I honor my son's gift of life.

By Kelli Jantz, Donor Mother

I lost my son when he was just 14 years old. Jake was my youngest and loved the things that many teenage boys do: sports, playing X-Box and hanging out with his friends and family. A football fanatic and member of his high school team, Jake would get up at 5:45 a.m., a full hour and fifteen minutes before the rest of his friends, to prepare for his football games.

In September 2004, Jake was playing in a football game when he collapsed. He was airlifted to an area medical center, having sustained a serious head injury that caused massive swelling of his brain. After many hours of watching and waiting, our worst nightmare came true: Jake’s brain could not survive the injury.

As a transplant coordinator, I have helped potential organ recipients for decades. That day, I found myself facing my friends and colleagues from a perspective I never anticipated. We were the donor family this time, experiencing the grief and tragedy that I had witnessed so many other families go through over the years.

Though I had never had a specific discussion with Jake about organ donation, he knew what a tremendous gift it represented. He was an incredibly generous, kind and giving individual who always looked out for others. That made our decision to donate his organs very natural, as it would have been what he truly wanted: to offer the gift of life to someone else.

This year, I am proud to be marching in Denver’s Annual 9NEWS Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 2 to honor Jake and escort the Donate Life Colorado “Gift of Life” balloon surrounded by others who have been touched by donation and transplantation. I invite the Denver community to attend the parade to cheer me on, or tune in to watch for me on TV.

In sharing Jake’s story, I am hopeful that it will help to inspire others to say “yes” to organ, eye and tissue donation. DonateLifeColorado.org is a great resource with the facts you need to make an informed decision about donation and to register as a donor online. You can also register while obtaining a driver license or state ID.

Coroner’s Corner: Q&A With Albany Co. WY Coroner Jennifer Graham

Advocate Spotlight: Judy Thompson

[caption id="attachment_15113" align="alignright" width="264"] Judy Thompson - Donor Mother[/caption]

Donor Alliance volunteers and advocates are the heart and soul of our efforts to inspire and inform our community about the importance of registering as organ, eye and tissue donors in Colorado and Wyoming. Each of our volunteers and advocates has their own unique and inspiring story to tell. This month, we are featuring Judy Thompson, a Donor Mother.

What has been your favorite thing about volunteering with Donor Alliance: My favorite thing about volunteering for Donor Alliance is that it provides me the opportunity to connect with people heart to heart sharing stories and experiences surrounding donation and coming together to help save lives.

If you could meet anyone for lunch or coffee, who would you like to meet and why: If I could meet anyone for coffee or lunch I would love to meet Chip and Joann a Gaines! It is not their fame that intrigues me but the incredible sense of family, faith,community and hard work and their ability to have such a positive impact on so many levels.

What kinds of things do you like to do for fun: I LOVE to practice yoga , hike, rescue dogs....the big ones!, travel and spend time with my 4 grand-kids!

If you could take an all-expenses paid vacation, where would you go: If I could have an all expense vacation it would absolutely be a photographic site-seeing safari in Africa!

What is your proudest accomplishment: The accomplishment I am most proud of would be the creation of a non-profit Take Jake in honor of my son Jacob Thompson.We have (with a lot of hard work of many) been able to make a positive impact within our community touching hearts and lives just as Jake always did. We are continuing to grow and each year we are able to do more and more for others!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given: The best piece of advice I ever received was......"Just Breathe "

What song would you sing at karaoke night: The song I would most likely sing at karaoke is Pour some sugar on me by Def Leopard hands down!! It's my jam! I usually break out singing it whenever and wherever it comes on!

Staff Spotlight: Joyleen Helcoski

[caption id="attachment_15107" align="alignright" width="306"] Joyleen Helcoski - Aftercare Coordinator[/caption]

We’re so proud to work with each and every one of our staff members here at Donor Alliance. In our Staff Spotlight, we like to take a minute to let you learn more about who we are and why we work at Donor Alliance.

Name: Joyleen Helcoski

Position: Aftercare Coordinator

Years at Donor Alliance: 5 years in January!

Tell us a little bit about your role here at Donor Alliance: As the Aftercare Coordinator, I provide support to donor families after donation. This includes follow up, providing grief counseling resources, and facilitating correspondence between donor families and recipients.

Favorite thing about working at Donor Alliance: Working with our incredible donor families. I am constantly reminded of people's kindness and strength in the midst of tragedy and heartbreak.

When you're not working, what do you like to do for fun: Hiking, skiing, reading, going to the theater, spending time with my family and my dog.

If you could take an all-expenses paid vacation, where would you go: Europe-anywhere in Europe!

What is your proudest accomplishment: My two amazing kids.

What song would you sing on karaoke night: You will never find me singing karaoke! What do I sing in the car, with the windows rolled up? Anything but country.

What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given: Be prepared to let go of dreams, hopes and expectations. Be ready to replace them with different dreams, hopes and expectations.

Broncos Coach Takes Donate Life Message to the Field

Denver Broncos Coach Eric Studesville is showing his support for organ, eye and tissue donation by wearing these custom Donate Life Colorado shoes when the Broncos take on the Miami Dolphins in December 3rd. It's part of the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" initiative designed to raise awareness for causes close to the players and coaches hearts. We're so lucky to have someone as generous as Coach Studesville on the Donor Alliance team! Good luck on Sunday coach!

Donor Alliance honored for best practices in Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award categories

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recognized Donor Alliance, the federally designated not-for-profit organization that facilitates organ and tissue donation in Colorado and most of Wyoming, for best practices within the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award categories of Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management (category 4) and Operations (category 6).

[caption id="attachment_15047" align="alignright" width="300"] Donor Alliance's 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award application resulted in recognition in the areas of knowledge and process management.[/caption]

Today's announcement of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners included acknowledgement for best practices in the Baldrige Criteria categories by organizations that are candidates for the award but were not selected as winners.

"This is a culmination of seven years of concentrated effort to improve our organization’s overall effectiveness in maximizing donation and transplantation. We are thrilled with the recognition and plan to continue striving for operational and organizational success, which is crucial to the lifesaving work we do,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “We are mission-driven, and our employees and relationships with partners are at the center of all our interactions, helping us to achieve this great accomplishment.”

The 2017 Baldrige Awards will be presented at an April 2018 ceremony during the Baldrige Program’s 30th annual Quest for Excellence® conference, which will be held in Baltimore, MD.

The Baldrige Program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economies; provides organizational assessments, training, tools and criteria; educates leaders in businesses, schools, health care organizations and government and nonprofit organizations; shares the best practices of national role models; and recognizes those role models with the Baldrige Award. The Baldrige Program is a public-private partnership managed by NIST and funded in part through user fees, with some support from the Baldrige Foundation.

The Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987 and is not given for specific products or services. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 118 awards have been presented to 110 organizations (including eight repeat winners).

Get the Facts: Does saying “yes” to becoming an organ donor affect the medical care I receive?

Many people that have never considered organ donation or have delayed registering to become a donor do so because of inaccurate information or assumptions about organ donation and transplantation.

One of the most common myths is that a person’s decision to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor affects the level of medical care they receive in case of an emergency. However, medical care is not affected in any way by your status as a registered donor. The doctors who care for a patient in the hospital are not associated with the doctors who perform the organ recovery and transplant surgeries. Medical professionals always exhaust all lifesaving measures and death is declared prior to and independent of donation.

Diane Eckert of Lakewood lived this situation when her brother Cody Crosby was in a terrible car accident in 2013. First responders on the scene did everything they could to save Cody’s life, and although he didn’t survive, Diane is forever grateful for their efforts. She even recently took the opportunity to publicly thank them.

“The outcome isn’t always what we want it to be but because of the fact that they worked so diligently and so hard on my brother, we were able to get some closure that day and also we were able to donate life,” Diane said.

In his death, Cody was able to save the lives of three people through organ donation. He healed countless others through the gift of tissue donation as well.

Get the facts on other common organ donation and transplantation myths by visiting Why Donate. For answers to other questions about organ donation and transplantation, visit our Donation FAQ page.

To register to become an organ, eye and tissue donor you can say “yes” at the driver license office, or anytime at Donate Life Colorado or Donate Life Wyoming.

Video: Ellen Stoddard Keyes – Donor Mother

Have you ever donated a dollar or more to the Emily Keyes – John W. Buckner Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Fund? The fund bears the name of Ellen's daughter Emily. In the midst of an unthinkable tragedy, Emily was able to donate the gift of sight. It's a fact Ellen is very proud of. Emily's last text to her family inspired Ellen to co-found The I Love You Guys Foundation in Emily's' honor. Emily's legacy lives on!

Donor Alliance Community Outreach and Public Education Efforts Recognized with Local and National Awards

Last week, the Donor Alliance team was honored at the 2017 Donate Life America (DLA) Pinnacle Awards, taking home honors in the media and innovation categories for our National Donate Life Month Trees for Life initiative, and in the affinity category for our “Heroes Say Yes!” partnership with the Grand Junction Rockies.

The Trees for Life campaign commemorated National Donate Life Month in 2016 and encouraged residents to register as organ, eye and tissue donors while honoring those that saved lives through the gift of donation. Trees were planted and dedicated across Colorado and Wyoming by transplant recipients honoring their donors, living donors celebrating the life of their recipients and families of donors memorializing their loved ones who gave the gift of life.

Also celebrating the gift of life, our “Heroes Say Yes!” partnership with the Grand Junction Rockies brought supporters of organ, eye and tissue donation together at a themed Donate Life Night game. A Grand Junction family threw the first pitch in honor of their son, Tanner Denton, who was an organ donor after tragically losing his life in a car accident. Grand Junction Rockies players also wore special Donate Life jerseys, which were auctioned off to raise money for the cause.

Two other key Donor Alliance projects from the past year were also honored at last week’s Colorado Healthcare Communicator Gold Leaf Awards. This informational page, Donation Essentials, was recognized with a Silver Leaf and the Donor Alliance website overhaul took home a Bronze Leaf. Both Donation Essentials and the Donor Alliance website are integral in achieving our organization’s goal to educate and inspire Colorado and Wyoming residents to understand and support donation and ultimately join the donor registries.

Thank you to Donate Life America and Colorado Healthcare Communicators! Our team is extremely proud of these initiatives and honored to be recognized for the success of each achievement.

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Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles Awarded Donate Life America Silver Level Donor Designation Rate Award

This week, the Donate Life America Silver Level Donor Designation Rate Award was presented to Mike Dixon, Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles of Colorado. Every year, awards are given to the three states with the highest donor designation rates (DDR) in the country. DDRs are determined by the percentage of state ID, driver license and permit holders who say ‘yes’ to registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor at the Driver License Office. In 2016, Colorado’s DDR was 69.3%, the second highest in the nation for the second year in a row.

“DMV offices and their employees play an invaluable role in increasing the number of registered organ, eye and tissue donors,” said G. David Fleming, president and CEO of Donate Life America. “In the U.S., 98 percent of donor registrations come through DMV and driver license partner transactions. Our DMV partners are the people on the front lines of service who have helped register more than 136 million donors. The U.S. would not have reached this milestone of registered donors and lives saved without the partnership and support of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, DMVs and driver licensing partners.”

Congratulations and thank you to all of our DMV partners for helping to save lives every day!

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Donor Alliance Reports on 2016 Successes; Highlights the Staff and Volunteers That Made It Possible

Last month we published our annual report that takes an in-depth look at “The Faces of Donor Alliance.”

Each member of our team is dedicated to maximizing the gift of life. Our organization and our staff adhere to the highest medical and ethical standards: respectfully working with the families of organ and tissue donors, maintaining partnerships with hospitals and educating Colorado and Wyoming residents on the lifesaving benefits of donation while also inspiring them to sign up on their state’s donor registry.

In recognition of the employees and volunteers who make our lifesaving work possible, the report highlights and celebrates the individuals and departments of Donor Alliance. In sharing their stories, we were also able to provide an in-depth look at our organization’s process and our key achievements in 2016.

Check out the full report here.

‘Skip the Trip’ with new online services from Colorado DMV

Did you know, you can not only renew your driver license or ID online, twice, but you can schedule an appointment to visit the DMV or even submit a subpoena? The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Division of Motor Vehicles recently introduced MyDMV.colorado.gov, including 11 new online services, and the expansion of existing online offerings from seven to 18 total services. Since the new services went into place on February 21, 2017, more than 915 thousand Colorado residents have used DMV online services, with more than 122 thousand individuals renewing a driver license or ID.

Those wishing to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor can still make their designation through the online driver license or identification card renewal tools. When you say “yes” to organ and tissue donation, a gray-scaled heart with a “Y” in the middle will appear below the photograph on your driver license or ID card.

With the DMV’s new online services, there are now even more ways to skip the trip. Eligible residents can renew their driver license up to two consecutive times online, meaning that they may not need to visit a physical location more than once every 15 years.

A full list of online service offerings includes:

To learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation and the reasons to say “yes” to donation, visit our “Why Donate” page.