IU's Circle of Life encourages organ donation awareness

Life is a selfless gift anyone can give regardless of age or nationality. Students and faculty members came to Merrill Hall's Clouse Lounge yesterday to register and spread awareness about organ donation for IU's Circle of Life.\nSchool of Music staff member Susan Buzan organized the event to raise organ donor awareness, a cause she has been actively advocating since early fall. \n"I found out from a friend of mine who is on the wait list for a lung transplant that donations are down," Buzan said. "So I decided to take on increasing awareness about how important it is to register to be an organ donor." \nStudents can register to become official donors through a computer at Merrill Hall today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration takes only a couple of minutes.\nJunior Ulises Dubon took advantage of the event and registered.\n"The opportunity was available here, so I thought I might as well do it," Dubon said. "Obviously I see the donation van driving around, so I figured it would be a good idea." \nAccording to the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization, organ transplants saved the lives of more than 25,000 people in the United States last year. Almost 87,000 people, including more than 600 Indiana residents, are still waiting for a transplant. On average, 17 people die each day waiting for a transplant.\nGraduate student and Circle of Life volunteer Tim Cahill is very supportive of organ donation. Cahill's 27-year-old brother died in a car accident two years ago, and the family chose to donate his organs.\n"The organ people that transplant were there, and they asked if we wanted to donate his organs. We said, 'Yeah, we might as well try to save someone else's life,'" he said. "We donated his heart, his liver, his kidneys and his pancreas. We've been in touch with the person who received his pancreas. We talk to her every couple of weeks, and we'll see her. It's cool because we get to see how she is living and how my brother was able to save her life."\nMarilyn Sater, an IOPO volunteer, said she believes strongly in the idea of "recycling ourselves." Her brother-in-law received a heart transplant, and her granddaughter received a kidney from her aunt. \n"It's a great thing to see someone revitalized, especially through a kidney transplant," Sater said. "It is great because the donor can be living and then witness how they have helped another person." \nAccording to an IOPO pamphlet, every individual has seven possible organs to donate but is able to save 70 people with the addition of skin and bones. The kidney, however, is the most demanded organ. Last year alone, 60,506 patients were waiting for a kidney transplant, 375 of them in Indiana.\nThe Indiana Life Celebration Quilt will be on display at the event. The quilt is composed of 93 8-inch-by-8-inch patches symbolizing individuals who have saved lives through organ donation. Each patch contains quotes, pictures, poems and other mementos of the donor's life. Donors' ages ranged from seven days to 47 years and older.\n"People can also register when they renew their driver's license, and in Indiana, you get a little heart put in the corner," Buzan said. "Also in Indiana, you can go to the Web site http://donatelifeindiana.org to register online. If you are from out of state, you can go to http://donatelife.net, then click on your state and register."\nVolunteers will provide assistance from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at Merrill Hall to register donors and acknowledge donors. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Megan George at mrgeorge@indiana.edu.