St. Francis honors organ donors; supports public awareness program

INDIANAPOLIS – Five years ago, Diana Robinson received a gift that will last her a lifetime – a liver from an anonymous donor.

When learning she would need a transplant, Robinson was placed on a waiting list, After several tense months, she received the call that would save her life.

“Getting placed on the transplant waiting list isn’t easy and it’s hard while you wait,” said Robinson, a surgical unit secretary at St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis. “But considering how I feel today and understanding why my life was saved, makes those things seem insignificant.”

Robinson is one of many whose lives have been saved or affected by organ donations. And for this reason, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is joining with Donate Life Indiana throughout April in observance of National Donate Life Month. The month is set aside to increase awareness about organ donation and to honor organ, tissue, and eye donors.

St. Francis hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville will fly the Donate Life Flag throughout the month.

Indiana has responded to the need for organ donations. In 2009, 145 Hoosiers were donors. But the need continues to surge: an estimated 1,200 people in Indiana are on waiting lists to receive a life-saving transplant, Donate Life Indiana reports.

Annually, about 30,000 Americans’ lives are saved through organ donations. But the waiting list for patients continues to grow, according to Donate Life Indiana. Nationally, more than 101,000 are awaiting organs or tissue; nearly 1,100 of those people reside in Indiana.

“I’ve been blessed and I am thankful everyday – not just some days,” Robinson said. “The gift I received is so very precious. I will celebrate the fifth anniversary of my transplant on April 1 this year.”

To learn more about donation or to register to become a donor, people are encouraged to go to www.donatelifeindiana.org.