BANNER — A Donate Life Month flag flew on Trinity Medical Center West’s campus, starting Tuesday -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — Employees and others at Trinity Medical Center West raised a flag reading “Donate Life” and “Donation Saves Lives” on the hospital’s campus Tuesday, boosting awareness of the life-saving gift of organ donation.

Established in 2003 by Donate Life America and partnering organizations, National Donate Life Month is observed each year in April. The flag-raising is one of many ways Trinity is urging community members to “say ‘yes’ to donation” and possibly be a help to the more than 100,000 people in the U.S. waiting to receive a lifesaving transplant, said Jessica Porter, nursing manager for Trinity West’s critical care unit.

“One donor can save the lives of as many as eight people through organ donation, heal up to 75 others through the gift of tissue donation, give sight to two people through cornea donation and change the lives of generations to come through donation to research,” Porter said. “Today, we recognize this ripple effect of donation as we honor the selfless generosity of donors and their families.”

Trinity’s donors doubled from last year, Porter said, in part due to effective education and awareness. After only three months in 2024, the health system has received three organ, four tissue and six cornea donations — a major improvement from 2023, which saw one organ, 11 tissue and 22 eye donations.

Porter said those 2024 donations, which included lungs, livers and kidneys, already have touched eight different lives for the better.

COMMEMORATING — Faith Hilterbrand, left, director of external partner relations for Lifeline of Ohio, spoke Tuesday at Trinity Medical Center West to commemorate Donate Life Month. Nearby, Dr. Haq Waqas, internal medicine resident, and Jessica Porter, nursing manager, presented a commemorative flag to be flown on Trinity West’s campus through the rest of the month. -- Christopher Dacanay

Faith Hiltebrand, director of external partner relations for Lifeline of Ohio, an independent nonprofit that promotes and coordinates human organ donations and tissue transplants, said Trinity’s donors and their families, with Trinity’s own support alongside them, are cause for celebration.

To Trinity, Hiltebrand said, “Because of your commitment to care and your advocacy for donation, lives are saved and healed. So, thank you for sharing our belief that donation makes a difference. We’re also grateful to all the Jefferson County citizens who are registered to be donors in the Ohio Donor Registry, and we appreciate the generosity of your neighbors in this community.”

Organ donation can be made by an individual who is in the hospital due to a severe medical emergency. A donation can only be made if the person has ceased brain or heart function while in the hospital, and has received a “terminal, irreversible prognosis,” Porter explained.

However, if the person’s organs are still viable for use, they may be donated to an individual who is need of the same organ. An individual can be a registered donor, but he or she might not be. In the latter case, the family makes the donation decision on his or her behalf — individuals can register as an organ donor online at lifelineofohio.org or at the BMV when renewing one’s driver’s license.

If a donation is to occur, the donor is taken to an operating room, where the organs are removed. After that, the organs undergo a matching process that soon delivers the organ to a person in need.

IN THE STARS — An honor wall on Trinity Medical Center West’s third floor displayed the names of the health system’s previous eye, tissue or organ donors. -- Christopher Dacanay

Porter said that part of raising awareness involves making sure people understand the process. She emphasized that families, especially, should understand the wishes of their family members, noting that making sure everyone is on the same page can remove confusion.

Trinity sees the dignity in the decision of individuals or their families to make a donation, said Liz Schriner, market director of mission for the health system. At Trinity, donors are treated with respect — in accordance with their families’ wishes — through prayer and an “honor walk,” wherein staff line the walls between the donor’s hospital room and surgery room “to show support for the life they bring in death,” she said.

“We see significant dignity in the gift that they give in death,” Schriner said, “and we want to honor that person and their family in that decision. That really stems from our Christian roots — the greatest gift one can give is to lay down one’s life for another.”

Trinity is commemorating National Donate Life Month through several other efforts during a Spirit Week.

On Trinity West’s third floor between the intensive care and surgery units, an honor wall is displayed, bearing the first name and last initial of every donor at Trinity from the last two years. The names are printed on stars, representing the theme “Our Heroes Live in the Stars,” which is emblazoned above the names.

MEMORIAL — A memorial quilt displayed near Trinity Medical Center West’s cafeteria contains squares designed by families of Ohio organ donors. -- Christopher Dacanay

In addition, a memorial quilt created by Lifeline of Ohio is on display near Trinity’s West’s cafeteria during the week. The quilt, one of 13 being circulated by Lifeline around the state this month, is made up of squares that are customized by families of Ohio donors and stitched together. The one at Trinity is from 1998 and contains one square representing a Brilliant donor, L. Jean McEndree, nicknamed “Gogi.”

Also planned for Spirit Week are a “thank a health care worker” card-writing effort and a dress-up day for the colors blue and green, symbolic of Donate Life America’s colors.

The flag raising event was particularly meaningful for Tina Wells of Wellsburg. Wells was present in honor of her son, Robb Rahr. A veteran who lived in Bethany, Rahr died on Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the age of 53 after a six-month battle with cancer, leaving behind three children, Wells said.

Giving the gift of life through organ donation was important to Rahr, a registered donor, Wells said, adding that because of his cancer, the only thing viable Rahr could give was his corneas.

“He was never one to want any self-praise or any attention to himself ever, so he would be mad that I’m here,” Wells said, later adding, “I’m proud of him. I’m proud of the man he was.”