April is National Donate Life Month. It’s a month during which organizations like the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Donate Life America honor donors and recipients alike, and provide education to help increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissues that can then help save and heal lives.
My dad — Ed Cyphert — died in September 2020. That’s when we (my siblings and I) learned that he had quietly signed up to be an organ donor. He was just a couple of weeks shy of 82, so we figured his organs had seen enough years that not much could be harvested.
But his body was taken to Pittsburgh and doctors removed his eyes and some skin.
While making arrangements at the funeral home, we learned his eyes would go for research and his skin to burn victims.
We were touched to know that a man who gave so much of himself in life would continue giving in death.
Inspired by my dad, I registered to be an organ donor, too. I’m not sure if my eyes, organs or tissue will be any good, but I hope when it’s my time to go, someone will benefit.
I encourage others to register, too. It took me about 30 seconds at RegisterMe.org.
You can also designate yourself an organ donor at your local DMV.
You’ll be in a database and when you die in western Pennsylvania, most of West Virginia or Chemung County, N.Y., hospital staff will notify CORE. CORE will then review your medical condition and history to determine what gifts you might be able to donate.
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education is one of 56 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States, serving more than 5 million people in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, N.Y.
To learn more about CORE and the ways you can celebrate National Donate Life Month, visit CORE.com. To become a registered organ donor, go to RegisterMe.org.
PAM QUEEN is editor of The Dominion Post. Contact her with comments and suggestions at Editor@DominionPost.com.
