Every day, Mid-America Transplant works toward a brighter future where organs and tissues are always available to those in need. The month of April brings a special opportunity to amplify the importance of donor registration and increase community engagement in our mission. During this Donate Life Month, we took to the streets, the stands and the studios to celebrate donor heroes and encourage others to give the gift of life.
Special events throughout Donate Life Month 2023 helped inspire 218 generous individuals to register to share the gift of life:
- Witnessing more than 600 family members and friends honor their loved ones’ legacies in the Walk of Honor around the St. Louis Cardinals field.
- Partnering with the St. Louis Cardinals, Springfield Cardinals, and Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) Athletics to host Donate Life games, and hearing incredible stories of impact over the loudspeakers as donor families and recipients threw out first pitches.
- Breaking ground on a donor memorial at SEMO’s River Campus, serving as a place of remembrance for those in southeast Missouri who have given the gift of life and an inspiration for others to choose donation.
- Celebrating donor heroes and their families in Jefferson City, as well as marking Missouri’s first Donate Life Day at the Capitol.
- Honoring the generosity of donor and sharing the impact of donation through dozens of flag ceremonies and other events with our hospital and funeral home partners.
- Working with TV, radio and newspaper reporters whose passion for telling stories of donation allowed us to reach hundreds of thousands of people.
- Introducing new emergency vehicles and trained drivers who quickly and safely transport lifesaving organs and serve as a mobile reminder that a miracle in progress.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped demonstrate the lifesaving impact of organ and tissue donation during Donate Life month and all year-round: our donor families and recipients, who know firsthand the hope and healing that comes from donation; our hospital partners, who are on the frontlines caring for patients and making transplants possible; our community partners, who support donor heroes’ choice to share the gift of life; and our staff, who come to work every day and night to make miracles happen. We hope that Donate Life Month inspired many others to say yes and one day give the gift of life.