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Donate life florida1/16/2024 Damaged corneas can lead to vision loss or blindness. Corneas are the outer layer in front of the eye. For example, one tissue in high demand is the corneas. You may not know that you can donate organs, but also tissue. Donors like you can give someone a fresh start in life. The most common transplants involve the kidney, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, and intestines. In Florida, more than 5,000 people are waiting for life-saving organ transplants. Sadly, 17 people die each day because they couldn't get a transplant. In fact, over 106,000 adults and children are on the national transplant waiting list. There are so many people waiting for organs to save their lives. Some Great Reasons to Be an Organ or Tissue Donor in Florida Let's go over how to be an organ donor in Florida. This gift of life doesn't cost anything, and it's easy to register. Health First Honor Guard’s Tara Dustin presents a flag to Pedro Batista’s family, mother Nancy Velazquez and stepfather Felix Bermudez.Signing up to be an organ donor is a simple but incredible way to touch other people's lives. Visit HF.org/news to follow the latest at Health First. For more information and common myths and misconceptions about organ donation, visit. To leave a legacy of life, register as a lifesaving organ, eye and tissue donor by visiting. ■ 1 tissue donor can enhance the lives of more than 75 people ■ 1 cornea donor can restore sight to 2 people What better gift could be given than the gift of life?”īe an Organ Donor: You have the power to Save Lives! “But knowing that he gave life to five different people makes my heart feel lighter. Not a day goes by that Velazquez does not think of her son, Pedro. “By registering as an organ donor now, you have the power to save lives just as my Pedro did. “Your loved ones may not always know your wishes,” said Velazquez, who participates annually in numerous organ-donation events with her family. Across America, that number stands at 120,000. Still, every day, about 5,700 children and adults in Florida await life-saving organ transplants, according to Donate Life Florida. “These gifts were made by quiet heroes, and they inspire us all.” Andrea Canales is a Family Care Specialist with OurLegacy, a nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization serving Brevard County and beyond. “Of those lives, 654 were saved because of 231 Central Florida organ donor heroes – 23 of them from Health First,” she said. “Last year, more than 42,000 Americans received a lifesaving organ transplant,” said Andrea Canales, Family Care Specialist with OurLegacy, a nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization serving Brevard County and beyond. They honored Pedro’s family and recognized the importance and impact of organ and tissue donation. More than 75 Health First leaders, clinicians and associates were in attendance during Tuesday’s ceremony. While not an organ transplant facility, Health First honors and supports the life-saving and immeasurable impact of organ donation and annually celebrates the gift of life alongside Donate Life Florida each April during National Donate Life Month. And let me tell you this… if you put your hand right on Omar’s chest, you could feel our Pedro’s heart pumping. “One Christmas, we invited Omar – the recipient who was given Pedro’s heart – and his mother and sister to the house,” he said. “All of these people got a chance to live… because of him,” Bermudez said. That donation saved the lives of five individuals – a few of whom Pedro’s family was gracious to meet. That day, Pedro donated both kidneys, his liver, heart and both lungs. I did not want to be selfish when I knew Pedro could help someone else who needed it.” Nancy Velazquez (seated) is warmly thanked by Patient Experience Coordinator RuthAnn Valentine while husband Felix Bermudez (in back) is embraced by Dawn Futch and Julie Newhouse. He would give you anything he had – without hesitation. But when they asked, I said, ‘Yes.’ I knew it was the right thing to do. “At the time, I did not know anything about organ donation,” Velazquez shared during a flag-raising ceremony Apat Holmes Regional. When the nurse came in to tell me he was gone, I just knew. “They laughed with me, they prayed with me, they called me ‘Mom.’ I knew they were doing everything they could do. “The staff was always with me,” said Nancy Velazquez, Pedro’s mother. Pedro was lifted by Health First’s First Flight air ambulance to Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. His smile lit up every place he went.”ĭescribed by family and friends as energetic, charismatic, generous and vibrant, Pedro’s life was cut short on May 29, 2011, after being involved in an accident while riding an all-terrain vehicle. “No matter where he was, no matter who was there, you could feel the mood change,” said Pedro’s stepfather, Felix Bermudez.
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