TAMPA, Fla. — April is National Donate Life Month, and advocates and organizations are working to raise awareness about the critical need for organ donors nationwide.
Ashley Moore, manager of public affairs for LifeLink of Florida, said more than 100,000 people are on the waiting list for organ and tissue donation nationwide, with 5,500 of those in Florida.
"That's men, women, and children," said Moore. "I would say that number tends to grow. Unfortunately, every eight minutes, another name is added to the national transplant waiting list."
Moore said this month is also about honoring the lives of people who passed away and helped improve or save the lives of others with their donations. One of those people is James Daniels.
"James was this kid, this picture perfect kid that had, you know, this face, and it brightened up the world when he was around people," said James's mother, Kolanda Daniels.
It's been seven years since Daniels and her family made the heartbreaking decision to take James off life support. She said a severe asthma attack deprived his brain of oxygen for about ten minutes. He was just 28 years old.
"They ran some tests that showed me that he wouldn't have that good quality of life," Daniels said.
Then, she was faced with another question: did she want to donate James's organs?
"I first refused," she said. "Like, how dare you ask me about organ donation? I have a child that's gone, and you want me to help somebody else live?"
Daniels said it was a heart-to-heart with her husband, also named James Daniels, that changed her mind.
"He said it would be a great thing for us to do because it would definitely help others, and the only word that I heard, that was 'help', because I'm all for helping others when they need," she said.
According to LifeLink, one organ donor can impact up to eight lives, and that number jumps to 75 people with tissue donation. Moore said last year, LifeLink of Florida was able to recover 936 organs from 361 donors.
"We were able to save more lives than ever," she said.
But she said the need is still great. Moore told Spectrum News some of the biggest misconceptions that keep people from registering as donors include thinking they're too old or that a health condition disqualifies them.
"We don't like people to rule themselves out, because there's really so much potential, and that's actually thanks to a lot of technology that's actually been invented that actually helps us recover more organs that we ever used to," Moore said.
According to LifeLink, 60% of people on the national waiting list are from racial and ethnic groups with disproportionately higher rates of conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease that can lead to organ failure.
In Florida, just 30% of registered donors are Hispanic and seven percent are Black.
Daniels said James helped multiple people with donations of his heart, liver, skin, and pupils. She met the man who received his heart, Ken Davis, one year after the transplant. Davis brought her a special gift.
"This necklace was the first heartbeat that came off of the EKG when they had finished the heart transplant of the recipient," Daniels said.
Daniels is now an advocate for organ donation, encouraging people to talk with their families about their wishes and to consider signing up as donors. In her case, she said it also helped her heal.
"As long as I know that Mr. Ken's okay and all the other ones that received the organs from James, I know that he's living. He's living on, in my eyes," said Daniels.
People can register to become donors online or while renewing driver's licenses.
