Ross Gallabrese DONATE LIFE — Jennifer Orlando speaks about her late daughter, Alicia Orlando, during Tuesday's Donate Life flag-raising ceremony at Trinity Medical Center West. Joining her were Alicia's daughter, Peyton Ewing, and son, Dominic Hines.

STEUBENVILLE — A decision made by Alicia Orlando some time ago helped to change the lives of at least four other people.

Orlando, a Wintersville resident, was an organ donor, and when she died May 13 at the age of 35, her choice left a lasting impact.

“We don’t have a lot of information,” said her mother, Jennifer Orlando, shortly after speaking during Tuesday’s Donate Life flag-raising ceremony at Trinity Medical Center West.

“I know that her heart went to a woman in Virginia in her 60s, her left kidney went to a man in Ohio in his 30s, her right kidney went to a man in West Virginia and her liver went to someone in New York. So, for sure, right now, we know that she saved four people,” she continued.

The ceremony is held annually during National Donate Life Month, which was established to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to recognize those who have saved lives through donation. Alicia Orlando was Trinity’s first heart donor.

“We did the flag-raising to honor the people who donate, honor their families and bring awareness to how important the cause is,” explained Tara Frankovitch, the organ donations coordinator at Trinity.

In addition to the flag-raising, Trinity unveiled a pinwheel garden. Each of the pinwheels serves as a representation of donors who have provided organs and tissues.

A single donor can have a big impact — according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, there were 49,064 organs transplanted in the United States last year. And while that number is impressive, there are more than 100,000 people currently on the waiting list for a transplant, a roster that grows by one person every eight minutes.

Sadly, 5,600 people who are on the waiting list will die before they receive a transplant.

“Donors are important because organ donation impacts the overall health of so many people,” Frankovitch said. “The fact is that far more people have active chronic illnesses than there are donors. Each donor has a chance to significantly impact the health and wellness of the community. It is such a caring and selfless act of kindness and longevity.”

One donor can save eight lives and tissue donors can enhance the lives of more than 75 people, the Health Resources and Services Administration reports.

Her mother described Alicia as a fighter who had a lot of challenges in her life. She had multiple brain surgeries, Jennifer said, and was a recovering addict. She was a single mom who raised her kids and took on a couple of extra kids, she remembered, adding Alicia loved her kids immensely and enjoyed being a grandmother.

“She was more than six years sober … she was an LPN … and she gave everything she had to her patients and her friends,” said Orlando, who was joined Tuesday by Alicia’s daughter, Peyton Ewing, and a son, Dominic Hines. Two other sons, Caleb Hines and Demarion Hines, were not able to attend. “Even today, I hear stories about how much she helped people in the NA community and in the medical community. The patients she had, they have nothing but good things to say about her.”

Orlando explained that the reports said her daughter died following an exacerbated asthma attack and was found unresponsive on the night of Mother’s Day.

“On that morning, she had given me a Mother’s Day gift, and in that bag was a magnet that said, ‘Less Bitter, More Glitter,’ and that couldn’t have described Alicia enough. She was always positive — she was never negative.”

Now listed as an organ donor herself, Orlando explained after the ceremony the difficult choices she faced.

“You find out that your daughter’s brain dead and they tell you that they want her organs, and your head just starts spinning,” she said. “She was a helper, she was a giver — she would give you the last $5 in her purse. I just felt like I needed to honor her wishes and agree.”

For Frankovitch, organ donation is personal. Her grandfather, she explained, received a heart transplant after suffering from cardiomyopathy, and because of that, she and her family were able to have another 12 years with him.

Orlando added choosing to become an organ donor makes sense.

“Your body goes into the ground and your soul goes to heaven,” she said. “There’s no reason, if you can save people, not to be an organ donor.”