Baseball Team Celebrates April as National Donate Life Month
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO, April 19, 2022 -- Mid-America Transplant has partnered with Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) to host the Donate Life Game, raising awareness for the importance of organ and tissue donation at the SEMO Redhawks baseball game. Mid-America Transplant is the regional organ procurement organization (OPO) responsible for facilitating safe, reliable donations for transplant.
April is National Donate Life Month, and as part of Mid-America Transplant’s partnership with SEMO, the baseball team will be trading in their red jerseys for blue and green jerseys, which are the Donate Life colors, on April 22, which is National Donate Life Blue and Green Day. Fans are being encouraged to wear blue and green in support of this lifesaving cause.
“We’re just really excited to be partnered with Mid-America Transplant and raising awareness for the livesaving benefits of organ donation,” said Nate Saverino, SEMO Associate Director of Athletics for External Affairs. “Fans can join the SEMO Redhawks in providing hope to those waiting and register to be an organ and tissue donor.”
“SEMO has been a great partner in raising awareness for the importance or organ and tissue donation,” said Kevin Lee, Vice President of Organ Operations, Mid-America Transplant. “Donate Life Month is the perfect time to register as a donor and make your wishes known to your family and loved ones.”
Saving Lives Thanks to SEMO Students
The ongoing efforts to increase the number of people registered for organ donation is special for the SEMO community.
SEMO students have played an important role in organ and tissue donation. In 2012, former SEMO soccer student athlete Meg Herndon was tragically involved in a fatal accident. Through her selfless gift of organ and tissue donation, Meg was able to save and heal 17 lives and leave a lasting legacy.
Former SEMO music major Madeline Flieg was also a registered donor. When she died, her corneas restored sight to two people and 42 other lives were healed through tissue donation. Madeline’s family says that donation “seemed fitting” to continue her legacy.
Organ and tissue donation is essential for saving lives:
- Every 9 minutes, someone is added to the national transplant waiting list.
- 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant.
- In 2021, Mid-America Transplant facilitated 706 organ transplants from 258 donors.
To those interested in registering as a donor, visit SayYesGiveLife.org.
About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ, tissue, and eye donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ donors, recipients, and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment to provide organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 57 such organizations in the U.S. and is the first organ procurement organization (OPO) to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence, and the only two-time recipient.
For more information, visit www.midamericatransplant.org.