(LEX 18) — After the family of 8-year-old Eli Hill revealed that the young boy’s heart and other organs were donated, LEX 18’s Leigh Searcy talked with the University of Kentucky Transplant Center about the importance of organ donation.
Melinda Fox, the transplant administrator at UK Hospital, talked about how one donor can save multiple lives.
“It's just such a selfless act that these families do in their biggest moment of grief,” Fox said. “To think about someone else, it's just a miraculous thing.”
On average, UK's Transplant Center does about 240 organ transplants a year. According to the university, one donor can save eight lives – and a tissue donor can help up to 75 people.
Recipients of organ donation often want to live in a way that honors the donor, Fox said.
“Before I got into transplant, I didn't realize how much guilt our patients struggle with after transplant,” Fox said. “Because they realize what a gift has been given to them, and that someone did have to pass away for that someone to live.”
Anyone interested in learning more about organ donation can visit donatelifeky.org.
