FLDRN Update Summer 2015

In this edition we extend our thanks to you for helping to make Donate Life Month during April 2015 such a huge success…and we feature events, programs and photos that capture all the excitement! Also included is the powerful story about 36-year-old Heather Seamans — in her father’s own words — who gave her liver to a stranger.

NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH

Thanks to You, Donate Life Month Programs and Events Boost NYS Donor Registry Enrollments

Because of your support – whether as a volunteer, friend or hospital partner – this year’s Donate Life Month during April was a huge success!

From donor registry drives and sporting events, to our National Blue & Green Day celebration, we raised awareness for organ donation and registered a significant number of New Yorkers in the state’s Donate Life Registry. READ ABOUT DONATE LIFE MONTH 2015 IN REVIEW

A DAD’S GIFT OF LIFE STORY

“Surrounded by Dignity and Respect, Our Daughter, Heather, Gave the Gift of Life.”

She was “a butterfly who lived freely.” That’s how Mike Semans and his wife, Jan, describe their daughter, Heather, who developed type 1 diabetes when she was only 18 months old.

Years later, on January 8, 2015, Mike and Jan received a phone call that no parent wants to get. It would lead to a stranger receiving her liver. READ HOW HEATHER GAVE THE GIFT OF LIFE

RECENT HAPPENINGS

Organ Donation in the Spotlight at a Variety of Spring Events

We were among those who joined forces in Albany with the New York Alliance for Donation on May 12 for Legislative Education Day to highlight the need for important organ, eye and tissue donation legislation.

A month later, we were at the Ryan Converse Memorial Golf Tournament in Watertown. The Ryan Converse Memorial Foundation was established to honor Ryan, a 21-year-old organ donor. READ ABOUT LEGISLATION EDUCATION DAY AND THE RYAN CONVERSE MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

TRANSPLANT GAMES OF AMERICA

Team Finger Lakes Bound for Cleveland in 2016

Team Finger Lakes is looking forward to representing our region at the 2016 Transplant Games of America – our team’s third appearance at the Games. Next year’s event will be held in Cleveland, Ohio from June 10 – 15.

Are you a transplant recipient, living donor or donor family and would like to join Team Finger Lakes? It’s an experience you won’t soon forget! READ ABOUT TRANSPLANT GAMES 2016

On Facebook? Help Us By Taking 3 Easy Steps:

Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network Facebook

1. Follow us on Facebook for the latest stories, photos and events.

2. Share our posts and invite your Friends to “Like” our Page. The more followers we have, the more opportunities to share the message: “Live life to the fullest. Then, help others do the same by joining the New York State Donate Life Registry.”

3. Send us a message through our Page: share a photo of one of your ‘I love life’ moments and that you’re proud to be a registered organ donor. We might just make your photo and story a featured post!