The Southwest Transplant Alliance works to educate the Dallas/Fort Worth area on the importance of organ donation.
After undergoing major heart surgery, Gregory’s heart began to bleed. He was too weak for another surgery, and his chance of survival seemed slim unless his blood could coagulate quickly.
“My wife was told that I probably would not survive, and that she should contact family and friends and prepare them for the worst,” said Keith Gregory, heart transplant recipient and retired SMU press director.
His blood finally thickened, but he still had a severely damaged heart and was having problems with arrhythmia.
Gregory was put on the transplant list in August 2001. In January 2002, his condition worsened, and he was moved to the hospital to wait for a miracle.
On the evening of Feb. 19, Gregory received a phone call.
“A transplant coordinator told me that a heart had been found for me and that the transplant would take place after midnight,” Gregory said “It was an exciting moment. It meant I had a chance to live.”
More than 100,000 people wait for organs in the United States, and every day 18 to 20 people die while waiting for a viable organ.
More than 10,000 people on the transplant list reside in Texas.
The Southwest Transplant Alliance in Dallas/Fort Worth has been working to increase the number of registered donors in Texas and to educate Texans on the pressing need for organ donors.
“The registry gives consent up front, so we can walk in and say to the family that we are only here to act for him,” said Pam Silvestri, the public affairs director at The Southwest Transplant Alliance. “It unburdens the family. It takes pressure off of them to make a tough decision in a difficult situation. It makes sure that your decision gets carried out.”
Today, Keith Gregory is healthy and active and will get to spend another holiday season with his family.
For him, one husband’s decision to donate his wife’s organs gave him a second chance at life.
“There are more people needing organ transplants than there are donors. As a result, many people die waiting for organs that never come,” Gregory said.
“My donor had told her family that she wanted to be a donor when her time to die would come. She had her wish to be a donor indicated on her driver’s license… she wanted her unpreventable death to give life to others.
Because of her loving decision and her family’s, her heart beats within me,” Gregory said.
The Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry is the official list for the state.
Before it was created, Texas only had a “Yes” or “No” option on driver’s licenses, and “No” was the default answer.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) removed the option 15 years ago because, despite the information on a person’s license, hospitals still had to go through the victim’s family.
While the license served as a symbol of intent, it never placed the victim on an indisputable list.
The official Texas Donor Registry did not go into effect until 2006, making Texas one of the last states to start a registry.
Despite the state’s slow start, Texas hit the one million mark in March and is now the third leading state in actual donors.
The Texas Department of State Health Services maintains the registry and only professionals from the state organ procurement organizations can access the database.
The program is funded by voluntary donations that Texans can make while applying for or renewing their government identification cards or driver’s licenses.
Information about registering online is now available to potential donors at Texas DPS offices.
Nefeterius McPherson, a May 2008 SMU Law School graduate, has told her story in Southwest Transplant Alliance videos played at DPS offices in an effort to encourage more people to register.
While McPherson was in law school, she became ill. Originally thought to have gallbladder issues, she sought the care of many doctors, but no one could pinpoint the cause of her health issues.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with secondary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a rare bile duct and liver condition.
Although she is currently stable, McPherson still has cysts in her bile ducts and liver, and doctors have warned her that sooner or later, she will have to have a liver transplant.
“I’m pretty lucky, but there are other people who aren’t so fortunate. If someone is so generous [as] to donate their organs when they die, that goes a long way,” McPherson said.
“[My] speaking out is very rewarding because it is humbling. I made a difference today. That person signing up to become an organ donor is going to save someone’s life in the future,” she said.
