LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – This National Donate Life Month, a Lubbock mother is sharing her story of peace and a lasting legacy. <\/p>\n
Sharon Fitch and her husband donated the organs of their son, Matthew, after he died at just 41 years old. He wasn\u2019t previously registered as an organ donor, but Sharon says the decision was an easy one to make.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hear those words that he could actually bring life to other people, we didn\u2019t even hesitate,\u201d Fitch said.<\/p>\n
According to LifeGift, more than 100,000 people across the U.S. are on the organ transplant waiting list. <\/p>\n
Even though it\u2019s a life-saving decision, Barbara VerWey, the community engagement specialist for Life Gift, said misconceptions about organ donation prevent people from signing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the number one myth we hear out at community events, \u2018Oh I don\u2019t want to have that little heart on my driver\u2019s license because the doctors won\u2019t try to save me and just want my organs,\u2019\u201d VerWey said. \u201cThe fact is if they don\u2019t try to save you they can\u2019t recover organs anyways because it\u2019s absolutely necessary that you be on a ventilator when you pass away to be a donor.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 6,000 people die while waiting for an organ every year, and a new name is added to the list about every 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need everyone that can be a donor to please be a donor,\u201d VerWey said.<\/p>\n
One organ donor can save up to eight lives.<\/p>\n
The heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, and intestines can all be donated. Tissue donors can also help save and enhance numerous lives.<\/p>\n
Donations are solely decided by the authorized donor or their family, like in Matthew\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gave me a lot of hope. It was really impactful for something good to come out of such a tragic thing,\u201d Fitch said.<\/p>\n
The families of organ donors often do not know where those organs end up. Organ donations are private unless both the recipient and the donor\u2019s family agree.<\/p>\n
Sharon says she was closely following Matthew\u2019s heart and the recipient it was going to.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Sharon said she was notified that the heart recipient died on the table during the transplant.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like Matthew died all over again,\u201d Fitch said.<\/p>\n
Though the heart was a crushing loss, Sharon said good news was around the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first birthday after [Matthew] died. It was a bad day all around and I was praying – I didn\u2019t even have the words, but I was just saying \u2018I need to know where he is\u2019,\u201d Fitch said. \u201cI\u2019m sitting there and pulling up my email, and I see \u2018from thankful lung recipient\u2019. The first lines of the letter say \u2018We are so thankful for Matthew. He lives on in me\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWow. To let a mother know, okay he\u2019s living. That\u2019s what it told me, that he was still alive,\u201d Fitch said.<\/p>\n
The Fitch family eventually built a correspondence with the lung recipient. He\u2019s even traveling to Lubbock to meet them next month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really clung to the verse in Romans that says \u2018In all things God works for the good of those that love him\u2019,\u201d Fitch said. \u201cJust that God wasn\u2019t through with [Matthew] when he died. He had more plans for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most people sign up to be organ donors while renewing their driver\u2019s license at the DMV. People can also sign up online and choose which organs they would or would not consent to donating upon their death. No one is excluded from registering to become a donor.<\/p>\n
Donation is a gift that comes at no cost to donors or their families.<\/p>\n