Byers W. Shaw Jr., M.D., avid biker, transplant surgeon and
chief of surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center,
will carry a message to each community as he rides across
Nebraska during the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska Eighteen
"Barnstormer’s Tour," June 7-13.
Along the overnight stops in Gering, Oshkosh, Paxton, Arnold,
Ravenna, Sutton and Hickman, Dr. Shaw will present BRAN 98
"Tree of Life" mementos and an invitation to community
leaders to ask their help in spreading the word about the
critical need for organ and tissue donors. Dr. Shaw is scheduled
to speak at the awards ceremony at the end of the BRAN ride in
Hickman.
The "Tree of Life" memento contains a cottonwood
seed, which, when planted grows into a large tree, much like the
seeds of knowledge that flourish in the educational process. Dr.
Shaw’s presentation is part of the UNMC and Nebraska Health
System "Tree of Life" awareness campaign.
The campaign promotes the gift of organ donation and what it
means to Nebraskans and other Americans who were dying from
end-stage organ failure, and to the donor families who have given
the "gift of life," said Kolleen Thompson, manager of
organ recovery services for the Nebraska Health System and one of
the coordinators of the statewide campaign.
"We’re always looking for opportunities to tell as
many people as possible about the life-saving gift of organ
donation," said Dr. Shaw. "If every potential organ
donor in the U.S. donated his or her organs, a critical shortage
of organs would not exist. One organ donor can potentially save
the lives of eight people."
A Nebraska resident since 1985 when he established one of the
top liver transplant programs in the country, Dr. Shaw and a team
of health professionals have since performed more than 2,800
liver, kidney, pancreas, lung, heart and small bowel transplants.
The campaign, sponsored by UNMC and the Nebraska Health
System, also makes available to communities, free educational
materials such as brochures, donor cards and films. Transplant
faculty and staff also are available to visit communities to
speak to schools, community organizations and hospitals about
organ and tissue donation.
A series of films are available from the James Redford
Institute for Transplant Awareness. The institute is an
independent not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 whose
purpose is to raise awareness in the field of transplantation and
organ donation.
Because of a critical shortage of donor organs, more than 411
Nebraskans, along with more than 58,000 adults and children
nationally, are on waiting lists to receive organ transplants,
according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in
Richmond, Va. UNOS maintains the national registry for all
candidates who are on waiting lists for solid organ transplants
in the United States.
Potential organ donors are those in good health who’ve
suffered irreversible brain-death through accidents or illnesses.
Brain-death means brain function has stopped permanently but the
heart and lungs continue to function only through the use of
artificial life support.
Hundreds of Nebraska children and adults and thousands
nationally, are alive today because of organ donors, and because
of the generosity of the donors’ families, who give final consent
for donation, said Thompson. But on the sober side, about 11
people die each day in the U.S. waiting for an organ, she said.
Adults can be organ and/or tissue donors by signing the back
of their driver’s license at any time, not just when renewing a
driver’s license. They also should tell family and friends of
their wishes, because although an individual may consent to
donate, the family has the final authority to donate the organs
of either an adult or child, said Thompson.
The UNMC-NHS campaign also creates awareness of The Lied
Transplant Center of UNMC and NHS, which is scheduled to open in
January. The solid organ and bone marrow transplantation center
will be a national model for cooperative care — an innovative
concept that involves a family member or friend in the
post-transplant care of the patient.
The 14-level building will feature 44 patient care suites as
well as considerable space devoted to education and transplant
research.
For more information about organ and tissue donation and free
educational materials, call UNMC toll-free at 1-800-95-ORGAN
(1-800-956-7426) or (402) 559-9566.