2008 Woodie Awards
Saving Lives Now
Miami students join competition to register organ donors and gain awareness
Megan Brooks
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Features
A new name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list every 13 minutes.
Daunting statistics like this from the LifeCenter Organ donor network played a large role in convincing Miami University's Miami Business Enterprises (MBE), an on-campus business organization, to become involved in the Do It Now program to encourage Ohio residents to become organ donors.
Miami is one of 13 colleges across Ohio participating in Do It Now's program to encourage residents to register to become an organ donor.
In August, RP Marketing Public Relations began working with MBE, which takes on a client every year or semester to provide market research and advertising across campus and in the Oxford community for the Do It Now campaign.
RP, based out of Toledo, began the Do It Now campaign after receiving a state-funded grant from the Second Chance Trust Fund. According to its Web site, Second Chance Trust Fund works to help solve the critical shortage of organ, eye and tissue donors through education and awareness efforts. The fund is supported by a voluntary $1 donation made when a person obtains or renews an Ohio driver's license or state identification card from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).
Laura Waltz, a 2000 Miami communications major alumna and now an account executive at RP, said she contacted Miami about joining the campaign.
"When we received the grant, the agency came up with various ideas and ways to do this campaign," Waltz said. "We created a corporate campaign, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles campaign and a college campaign."
According to Waltz, the overall goal of Do It Now is to register about 241,000 new organ and tissue donors within Ohio. For participating colleges, the goal is 135,000 new organ and tissue donors by mid-May.
Participating schools include the Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, Youngstown University, University of Toledo, Ohio University, Capital University, University of Akron, Xavier University and University of Dayton.
Eleven out of the 13 schools are participating in the campaign as a competition. Whichever school registers the most new donors will be awarded $5000 to the student organization that worked on the campaign.
According to the tracking on Do It Now's Web site, every school has set a particular goal to be reached in the upcoming month.
According to MBE's president Whitney Honold, Miami has set an ultimate goal of registering 6,000 new donors.
Since August, Miami has successfully registered 3,195 new donors, totaling 54 percent of the ultimate goal.
MBE's strategy for registering new donors has included holding focus groups with Miami students, taking surveys of a variety of age groups and holding in-depth interviews with the older Oxford population.
"Through these surveys and interviews we hoped to figure out why people are against organ donation," said Cory DeKing, sophomore MBE member.
Tim Fields, junior MBE member, said one of the campaign strategies MBE developed was to attend sporting events such as basketball and hockey games while distributing pamphlets and t-shirts. Fields said the strategy failed to be as success as anticipated.
DeKing agreed, explaining the flaws of the strategy.
"In the beginning, we thought backwards," DeKing said. "We figured people who would be at sporting events would be health conscious and would register, but we didn't think about how they'd already be signed up."
In fact, MBE found that a large portion of Miami students had already registered to be an organ donor.
As many as 50 people may be helped by the gift of tissue donation.
Jeannie Kuhn, public affairs and development associate for LifeCenter, said one of the biggest challenges for enlisting organ donors is fighting off misconceptions.
"Mostly, people do not understand the donation process and are often mislead by the misconceptions that surrounds organ and tissue donation," Kuhn said. "Therefore, LifeCenter Organ Donor Network works tirelessly everyday to educate our community on the facts about donation, so that they can make a better informed donation decision."
As a speed bump to success, the students of MBE also discovered that preconceived notions about organ donation might prevent some from registering. One such notion is that if a person chooses to be an organ donor and is later injured, doctors will not work as hard to save their life.
Kuhn said this is definitely not the case.
"This is a misconception because if you are sick or injured and admitted to the hospital, the number one priority of the hospital and its staff is to save their patient's life," Kuhn said. "Organ donation can only occur after the patient has been declared brain dead by a physician who is not affiliated with the transplant recovery teams."
According to Kuhn, the statistics on organ donation cannot be ignored. LifeCenter reported there are 400 people in Cincinnati on the current waiting list for organ donation. Additionally, there are 2,700 people on a waiting list in Ohio and 94,000 people in the United States.
For Kuhn, these statistics can provide motivation to those not registered to be donors.
"Currently there are nearly 100,000 men, women and children in the U.S. waiting for a life-saving transplant," Kuhn said. "Lives can be saved by donation and transplantation, but only when generous individuals and families say 'yes' to donation."
According to Kuhn, every person is a potential donor regardless of age or medical donation. Anything from a heart to a liver, bones and corneas, skin, ligaments and veins can be donated. Organ donations can be used to save the life of a person who has undergone an accident or for those whose organs have failed for various reasons.
Although most donors are legally brain dead, a donor can also give an organ when still alive, Kuhn said.
According to Kuhn, kidneys are the most frequent type of living donation, while livers and pancreas can also be donated in portions.
Kuhn said patients in need of an organ transplant are registered in a national list.
"Each patient awaiting an organ transplant is listed on a national computerized waiting list that is maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in Richmond, Va.," Kuhn said.
Each patient on the waiting list is in the "pool" and is matched by the computer by donor characteristics. Kuhn said the computer system then generates a ranked list of patients for each organ.
18 people on average-men, women and children-die each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
As April is National Organ and Tissue Donor month, MBE is hosting their biggest events this month in an effort to increase awareness.
"We're having a week long campaign from April 14 to 17," Honold said. "We will be at Shriver, Bell Tower, the Phi Delt gates and the Hub passing out T-shirts, brochures and raffle prizes."
Fields said MBE is hoping to reach large numbers during these events taking place around campus.
"We are hoping that our big push during our Organ Donation Week will give us a big jump in coming closer to reaching this goal," Fields said.
According to Honold, once a person decides to register, the rest of the process is simple.
"They can just fill out a form on the spot or they can sign up online," Honold said.
Although the Do It Now campaign is focusing on Miami students and Ohio residents, DeKing said the group wants to stress that this is a national issue.
"Do It Now is part of a national campaign to increase the number of organ donors, so this really is about far more than just Ohio," DeKing said.
With almost 100,000 people in the United States waiting on a transplant list, DeKing and other MBE members have become to view the campaign as more than just gaining experience.
"I've enjoyed doing the Do It Now program because this client isn't just trying to increase customer base but there is a deeper cause and meaning," DeKing said.
DeKing said MBE's desire to make a difference is a large reason for their success.
"I believe in the cause so it's easier to work hard and help them reach their goal," DeKing said.
For Kuhn, saving lives depends on people who are willing to take the step to become a donor.
"Despite the advances there is still a health crisis of organ and tissue donations and a continually growing list of patients waiting for a life-saving transplant," Kuhn said. "There simply aren't enough viable organs for everyone who needs them."
Sophomore Bobby Lindsay said he has been registered for about four years.
"I registered when I got my license," Lindsay said. "I just think it's something everyone should do. If I was the one who needed a transplant, I'd hope there were people out there willing to help me."
Daunting statistics like this from the LifeCenter Organ donor network played a large role in convincing Miami University's Miami Business Enterprises (MBE), an on-campus business organization, to become involved in the Do It Now program to encourage Ohio residents to become organ donors.
Miami is one of 13 colleges across Ohio participating in Do It Now's program to encourage residents to register to become an organ donor.
In August, RP Marketing Public Relations began working with MBE, which takes on a client every year or semester to provide market research and advertising across campus and in the Oxford community for the Do It Now campaign.
RP, based out of Toledo, began the Do It Now campaign after receiving a state-funded grant from the Second Chance Trust Fund. According to its Web site, Second Chance Trust Fund works to help solve the critical shortage of organ, eye and tissue donors through education and awareness efforts. The fund is supported by a voluntary $1 donation made when a person obtains or renews an Ohio driver's license or state identification card from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).
Laura Waltz, a 2000 Miami communications major alumna and now an account executive at RP, said she contacted Miami about joining the campaign.
"When we received the grant, the agency came up with various ideas and ways to do this campaign," Waltz said. "We created a corporate campaign, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles campaign and a college campaign."
According to Waltz, the overall goal of Do It Now is to register about 241,000 new organ and tissue donors within Ohio. For participating colleges, the goal is 135,000 new organ and tissue donors by mid-May.
Participating schools include the Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, Youngstown University, University of Toledo, Ohio University, Capital University, University of Akron, Xavier University and University of Dayton.
Eleven out of the 13 schools are participating in the campaign as a competition. Whichever school registers the most new donors will be awarded $5000 to the student organization that worked on the campaign.
According to the tracking on Do It Now's Web site, every school has set a particular goal to be reached in the upcoming month.
According to MBE's president Whitney Honold, Miami has set an ultimate goal of registering 6,000 new donors.
Since August, Miami has successfully registered 3,195 new donors, totaling 54 percent of the ultimate goal.
MBE's strategy for registering new donors has included holding focus groups with Miami students, taking surveys of a variety of age groups and holding in-depth interviews with the older Oxford population.
"Through these surveys and interviews we hoped to figure out why people are against organ donation," said Cory DeKing, sophomore MBE member.
Tim Fields, junior MBE member, said one of the campaign strategies MBE developed was to attend sporting events such as basketball and hockey games while distributing pamphlets and t-shirts. Fields said the strategy failed to be as success as anticipated.
DeKing agreed, explaining the flaws of the strategy.
"In the beginning, we thought backwards," DeKing said. "We figured people who would be at sporting events would be health conscious and would register, but we didn't think about how they'd already be signed up."
In fact, MBE found that a large portion of Miami students had already registered to be an organ donor.
As many as 50 people may be helped by the gift of tissue donation.
Jeannie Kuhn, public affairs and development associate for LifeCenter, said one of the biggest challenges for enlisting organ donors is fighting off misconceptions.
"Mostly, people do not understand the donation process and are often mislead by the misconceptions that surrounds organ and tissue donation," Kuhn said. "Therefore, LifeCenter Organ Donor Network works tirelessly everyday to educate our community on the facts about donation, so that they can make a better informed donation decision."
As a speed bump to success, the students of MBE also discovered that preconceived notions about organ donation might prevent some from registering. One such notion is that if a person chooses to be an organ donor and is later injured, doctors will not work as hard to save their life.
Kuhn said this is definitely not the case.
"This is a misconception because if you are sick or injured and admitted to the hospital, the number one priority of the hospital and its staff is to save their patient's life," Kuhn said. "Organ donation can only occur after the patient has been declared brain dead by a physician who is not affiliated with the transplant recovery teams."
According to Kuhn, the statistics on organ donation cannot be ignored. LifeCenter reported there are 400 people in Cincinnati on the current waiting list for organ donation. Additionally, there are 2,700 people on a waiting list in Ohio and 94,000 people in the United States.
For Kuhn, these statistics can provide motivation to those not registered to be donors.
"Currently there are nearly 100,000 men, women and children in the U.S. waiting for a life-saving transplant," Kuhn said. "Lives can be saved by donation and transplantation, but only when generous individuals and families say 'yes' to donation."
According to Kuhn, every person is a potential donor regardless of age or medical donation. Anything from a heart to a liver, bones and corneas, skin, ligaments and veins can be donated. Organ donations can be used to save the life of a person who has undergone an accident or for those whose organs have failed for various reasons.
Although most donors are legally brain dead, a donor can also give an organ when still alive, Kuhn said.
According to Kuhn, kidneys are the most frequent type of living donation, while livers and pancreas can also be donated in portions.
Kuhn said patients in need of an organ transplant are registered in a national list.
"Each patient awaiting an organ transplant is listed on a national computerized waiting list that is maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in Richmond, Va.," Kuhn said.
Each patient on the waiting list is in the "pool" and is matched by the computer by donor characteristics. Kuhn said the computer system then generates a ranked list of patients for each organ.
18 people on average-men, women and children-die each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
As April is National Organ and Tissue Donor month, MBE is hosting their biggest events this month in an effort to increase awareness.
"We're having a week long campaign from April 14 to 17," Honold said. "We will be at Shriver, Bell Tower, the Phi Delt gates and the Hub passing out T-shirts, brochures and raffle prizes."
Fields said MBE is hoping to reach large numbers during these events taking place around campus.
"We are hoping that our big push during our Organ Donation Week will give us a big jump in coming closer to reaching this goal," Fields said.
According to Honold, once a person decides to register, the rest of the process is simple.
"They can just fill out a form on the spot or they can sign up online," Honold said.
Although the Do It Now campaign is focusing on Miami students and Ohio residents, DeKing said the group wants to stress that this is a national issue.
"Do It Now is part of a national campaign to increase the number of organ donors, so this really is about far more than just Ohio," DeKing said.
With almost 100,000 people in the United States waiting on a transplant list, DeKing and other MBE members have become to view the campaign as more than just gaining experience.
"I've enjoyed doing the Do It Now program because this client isn't just trying to increase customer base but there is a deeper cause and meaning," DeKing said.
DeKing said MBE's desire to make a difference is a large reason for their success.
"I believe in the cause so it's easier to work hard and help them reach their goal," DeKing said.
For Kuhn, saving lives depends on people who are willing to take the step to become a donor.
"Despite the advances there is still a health crisis of organ and tissue donations and a continually growing list of patients waiting for a life-saving transplant," Kuhn said. "There simply aren't enough viable organs for everyone who needs them."
Sophomore Bobby Lindsay said he has been registered for about four years.
"I registered when I got my license," Lindsay said. "I just think it's something everyone should do. If I was the one who needed a transplant, I'd hope there were people out there willing to help me."
Be the first to comment on this story