April 11, 2025 • 17 mins
We shine a light on the life-saving work of the Gift of Life Donor Program, now celebrating its 50th anniversary. We’re joined by Richard Hasz, President & CEO of Gift of Life, and Justin Trotman, a Philly native, husband, father, and kidney transplant waitlist patient. As one of the nation’s oldest and largest organ procurement organizations, Gift of Life continues to lead in organ and tissue donation. Their 28th Annual Donor Dash unites thousands to honor donor heroes, support recipients, and raise awareness for those still waiting. More than 100,000 people are currently on the national transplant waitlist—including nearly 5,000 in our region. It takes just a minute to become a registered donor and potentially save a life.
🌐 Learn more and register: Donors1.org
📲 Socials: @donors1 on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
🌐 Learn more and register: Donors1.org
📲 Socials: @donors1 on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we're shining a light on the life saving work
of the Gift of Life Donor Program, which is proudly
celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Joining us our Richard has who's
president and CEO of Gift of Life, and Justin Trouttman,
a Filly native, husband, father, and kidney transplant wait list patient.
As one of the oldest and largest organ procurement organizations
(00:22):
in the US, Gift of Life has been a leader
in supporting patients and families through the power of organ
and tissue donation. Their signature event, the twenty eighth annual
Donor Dash, brings together thousands of people across our region
to honor donor heroes, celebrate recipients, and support those still waiting.
So I'm so delighted to have you both, hear Rick,
Congratulations on fifty years of the Gift of Life Program.
(00:45):
Can you take us back to the beginning, When did
it all start? And what has helped the organization grow
into a national leader in organ procurement.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thanks for having us today. Gift of Life was founded
by two transplant surgeons in nineteen seventy four who were
looking for better ways to coordinate donation Prior to that,
there really wasn't any kind of system, and they would
have relationships at different hospitals to be able to talk to.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Families and procure organs.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
And they thought, you know what, as transplant surgeon, our
expertise really is in the surgery and the immunosuppression and
the medication, but we really need to come together and
do a collaborative effort to educate the public as well
as coordinate the donation.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So they hired their very first.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Employee in nineteen seventy four, who happened to be a
social worker who was tasked with traveling out to the
various hospitals after somebody died to talk to families about donation.
Then if they were interested, you know, coordinated all the
different logistics that were involved. Early on, it was mostly
just kidney donation, and they came up with our probably
(01:55):
one of the best marketing things we've ever done was
our phone number, which is one eight hundred Kidney Won
And so it was very easy for hospital staff to
remember that, Hey, after our patient had died, all I
have to do is dial want to hinder kidney one,
and someone will come and help us with that. And
that was really then the origins of what we did.
(02:15):
In those early days, we coordinated maybe twenty four donors
a year. We're up to well over seven hundred, and
since the beginning of the national system, our community has
provided more donors and more transplant than in any other
community in the United States. And that's something that we're
very proud of because it takes a lot of work,
(02:37):
not just our staff, but the hospitals that we work with,
and then the selfless donors and their families who make
that decision to say yes at their worst possible time.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Justin first of all, thank you for joining us and
sharing your story. You've been on dialysis and you are
waiting for a kidney transplant since twenty twenty two. How
has this experience impacted you and your family?
Speaker 4 (03:01):
First of all, thank you for having me. It's an
honor to do this. It's impacted me and my family
by there are some things that you want to be
a part of, but unfortunately, due to doing the treatment
and having doctor's appointments, you unfortunately aren't able to be
(03:22):
a part of. Especially for my two boys. They have
practices in the morning, they have school trips, they have
school activities, they have different activities that would happen in
the morning. My time for a dialysis is six o'clock
in the morning, and that usually trickles and my duration
is four hours. They're starting school on Saturdays, they have
(03:45):
like a practice, they're doing trips. Of course in the morning,
they'll start from eight o'clock, Like as soon as school
starts in they're on their way to the trips and
I'm still in the chair doing treatment. It's away time
from family activities, doing things that you want to do
with your wife, getting things ready for a morning. Sometimes
(04:10):
you aren't able to do it because the first thing
you're thinking about and the first thing that you have
to do is get ready for treatment and go to treatment.
It really impacts time and impacts the time, and it
impacts the activities and the life events that you could
be missing out.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
One yeah, for hours out of a day is a
substantial part of your day, and not being able to
do the things that you'd like to do with your
family and friends has got to have a big impact.
I wonder if you can talk about what it was
like to get this diagnosis that said you have to
get a new kidney.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
To be completely honest, when the neuphrologists came in and
said that I have this condition. I was just like,
what do I have to do in order to get
myself better, keep myself healthy, stay around for my family,
owe me. You have to start dialysis immediately. We have
to try to get you on a list for a
(05:06):
kidney transplant. I was just like, Okay, I'm a religious person,
so I know that my faith would keep me strong,
would keep me positive. And it's been three years and
a few months since it's happened, and I am still positive.
I know miracle is going to come my way, and
(05:28):
not just me, not just me, all others who are
looking for a transplant in Oregon. A miracle will come
our way. And a positive attitude really helps you get
through a lot. When I heard the news, I could
have really moped. And I know how I am. Once
I get down on something, it takes a while to
really recover from it. So something that extreme, who knows
(05:51):
how long it would have taken me to recover from
it and get down on myself. But something inside of
me was just like, be positive.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So you made a choice. You made a choice to
stay positive and to maintain hope and prayer and faith
which is very, very wonderful to hear rick. Right now,
more than half the people on the wait list are
from communities of color. Why is it especially important for
black and brown communities to understand the need for organ
(06:21):
donations and to register and what are some of the
obstacles for making that happen more effectively?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Really, since the beginning of our program, organ donation and
transplant really is a neighbor helping neighbor scenario. Unfortunately, diabetes
and hypertension are more prevalent in the black and brown communities,
which leads to more kidney disease and more need for dialysis,
and unfortunately for transplantation, it's in some of those same
(06:48):
communities where a number of myths surrounding organ donation still
are there in terms of they won't do everything they
can to save my life if I put that donor
designation on my driver's license, and little do they know
that right next door, you know a block away, is
a patient like justin who's in need of a kidney transplant.
(07:09):
And so really making that connection and providing the education
on how donation and transplant works that by you saying yes,
you're really most likely going to be helping a neighbor
of you or someone that looks like you. Unfortunately, sixty
percent of the patients who are waiting for a kidney
transplant in Philadelphia are people of color. We have to
do more, not only in donation and transplant, but trying
(07:31):
to prevent kidney disease in the first place, so better health,
better control of diabetes and hypertension and things like that,
so that you never get to that waiting list and
that you you know, you keep your kidneys healthy. But
until then, we try to do as much as we
can in the public to educate folks. And really, you know,
having Justin here today and for him to tell his story,
(07:54):
no doubt we'll have an impact on a listener say, oh,
I didn't know it was somebody like Justin who could benefit,
and I'm going to rethink my decision.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
About donation and transplant.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
And so we just have to do more to make
that connection because we know end stage organ failure doesn't
know any different.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, Justin, clearly your faith has had a huge impact
on your ability to navigate this very challenging time in
your life. And I wonder if you can talk to
our listeners, those who are on the fence who are saying,
you know, it may not be for me. Little aside
I have or a donor on my license, I have
a living will. I am one hundred percent behind the
(08:35):
idea of being an organ donor if that time were
to come, and understand that the doctors will do everything
possible to keep me alive. If it's down to that,
there's no rush to take organs that don't belong. I mean,
it's just a myth that we have to overcome. So
I wonder if justin you can send a message out
(08:55):
to our listeners, the ones who are thinking it's not
for me. I don't think I'm for that. What would
you say to them?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
First of all, thank you for being an organ donor.
That means a lot to me, and all those who
are waiting for the right time and the right organ
to be transplanted into us really appreciate it and appreciating
ahead of time those who are organ donors, those who
(09:22):
have decided to do that, And for those who are
on the fence. I'm a comic book fan. I'm all
big with superheroes and all that you are, and for
those who are considering you will be a superhero because
what's the first thing that people think about with superheroes.
Superheroes save lives, and you will be a superhero. You
(09:44):
are saving a life. You are extending a life of
someone who wants to see their children grow up to
do extraordinary things. You are an example of just being
help to someone who needs it. And it's is it
a big decision? Absolutely? Absolutely, It's not a decision like
(10:08):
do I wear blue shoes? Do I wear brown shoes?
Am I going to when the time comes have a
part of me taken out of me and put into somebody.
Is it a hard decision? Is it a tough decision?
Is it a decision that you really have to sit
down and think about? Absolutely? But the benefits at the
(10:30):
end of the day, you are saving someone's life. You
are helping someone live out the rest of their life.
There can be so many things that people want to
do and they can't do it because they have this affliction,
they have this issue that's going on with them, and you,
being a future donor will really help them to live
(10:51):
out what they wanted to do and help families. It's
not just the person that needs the organ that you're
helping out, it's the families too. It's the families too.
It's the wives, it's the husbands's the children, grandchildren, cousins, uncles, aunts,
it's everyone in the village that you're helping out doing that.
(11:14):
So it's not just one person you're helping. It's not
just one life that you're saving. It's hundreds, it's dozens
of lives that you're saving. So if you're considering, I
hope that it's something that you can take in. You're
a true life superhero. Not all superheroes wear capes.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Well, I just have to say that I have had
the privilege and pleasure of interviewing many people who've been
the recipients of not only one organ but multiple organs,
And in each of those cases, I asked them, what
were you able to experience? And perhaps you weren't wouldn't
have been able to experience the marriage of children, the
(11:55):
birth of grandchildren, being able to run in a race
where they never were able to run before. And speaking
of race and dashing and walking and all those good things,
the Donor Dash is a powerful and emotional event that
happens every year. Rick, What does the twentieth annual Donor
Dash represent and how does it support the mission of
increasing donor awareness and registration.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yeah, it's really our signature event, Lorraine, to really bring
together the entire community of donation and transplant into one
spot at the showcase that transplantation works, that folks like
Justin who get an organ transplant can go back to
leading a normal life. It honors our donor heroes and
their families who made that decision to say yes. It
(12:40):
brings in all the transplant professionals really who without their expertise,
transplantation wouldn't happen. And it also recognizes the caregivers in
the ICUs, the physicians and nurses who work diligently twenty
four to seven to really care for donors in their
families so that they can say yes. Thus, it's an
(13:01):
opportunity to really support and get that message out. We
hope to have fifteen thousand people there on April twenty seventh.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
We'll have a lot of entertainment.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
We'll have some health fair benefit information in terms of
how to keep your organs healthy so you don't.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Have to get a transplant.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
There will be entertainment by Philadelphia Freeway, a kidney recipient
and a donor Dad. There's a lot of fun and
an activity that we're going to do and we'll have
a three k walk, five k run, and at a
ten k run, so something for all levels of athleticism.
And really it's just a great event and we really
invite the entire community to come out and celebrate. You know,
(13:41):
as part of our fiftieth anniversary, we're trying to sign
up fifty thousand new organ donors and we're at like
forty seven and change, and we need this extra push
for everyone to go to Donorswe dot organ to register
as a donor to be able to really help patients
like Justin who are in such desperate need of an
organ transplant.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
I just want to give a shout out to Gift
of Life because I know that run is a very
very very big event. But they do a lot of
things around this area, including like I said, I'm a
member of Saint Thomas Church in the Overbrook section of
West Philly. Twice a year, Gift of Life we do
a Gift of Life concert, they do a series, and
(14:25):
they do a service. There's actually like an organ doornation
service that we do one Sunday a year. So Gift
of Life is they're always out they're always putting the
word out that donation is something that is helpful for everyone,
and they've been doing it for this long and they're very, very,
(14:47):
very helpful with spreading that word.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
That's great, and you're talking about donor Sabbath, which happens
every year, and that's wonderful that your church is so engaged.
And I also want to just comment back to something
you said. It and be a difficult decision, but it
can also be a very easy decision because at the
end of the day, all you have to do is
go on to the website donorswe dot org and sign up,
(15:09):
sign up, and forget it. It's like it's not going
to impact you unless God forbids something were to happen,
and then you would know you would have the comfort
of knowing that your organs would go to save someone's
life like yours justin or to provide a cornea for
someone to restore their site, or a burn victim to
(15:31):
help them heal. There's so many different things that organ
donation can do, and while it can be challenging for
some people to think about it, it can also be
as easy as checking out that website and what is
that website, Rick.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
It's donorswe dot org.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
And I always like to say it only takes about
thirty seconds to register. About thirty seconds can mean the
lifetime for somebody else.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Yeah, and having lost someone to kidney disease, and knowing
individuals who have been living donors, also knowing people that
are on the transplant list, knowing people My brother in
law is a two time kidney transplant recipient. So clearly,
organ donation is something that deeply, deeply I care about
(16:16):
and anyone out there listening. It is so simple and
you can be a superhero, just like Justin said, by
signing up with Gift of Life. Go to donorswe dot
org and of course the donor dash and what is
the date on that again.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
April twenty seventh's first run is starting at nine am.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Fantastic and I will be there and I will be
there with my shoes, my sneakers on, ready to maybe walk,
but support and regardless. And I want to thank you
both for shining a light on the fiftieth anniversary of
Gift of Life doing so much life saving work for
so many people. And of course Richard has who is
(16:56):
the president and CEO of Gift of life. And Justin Truttman,
a Philly native, a husband, a father, someone who is
on the transplant list. Let's make sure that he is
able to get the kidney transplant that he needs to
save his life and to allow him to be the father,
the son, the husband that he wants to be to
his family going forward. And we thank you both for
(17:18):
joining us here today. Thank you so much, and sign
up donorswe dot org. That is the website. Do it now,
It's so simple. Thirty seconds has Rick said, so thank
you both for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Thanks Lorene, thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Thank you
Today we're shining a light on the life saving work
of the Gift of Life Donor Program, which is proudly
celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Joining us our Richard has who's
president and CEO of Gift of Life, and Justin Trouttman,
a Filly native, husband, father, and kidney transplant wait list patient.
As one of the oldest and largest organ procurement organizations
(00:22):
in the US, Gift of Life has been a leader
in supporting patients and families through the power of organ
and tissue donation. Their signature event, the twenty eighth annual
Donor Dash, brings together thousands of people across our region
to honor donor heroes, celebrate recipients, and support those still waiting.
So I'm so delighted to have you both, hear Rick,
Congratulations on fifty years of the Gift of Life Program.
(00:45):
Can you take us back to the beginning, When did
it all start? And what has helped the organization grow
into a national leader in organ procurement.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thanks for having us today. Gift of Life was founded
by two transplant surgeons in nineteen seventy four who were
looking for better ways to coordinate donation Prior to that,
there really wasn't any kind of system, and they would
have relationships at different hospitals to be able to talk to.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Families and procure organs.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
And they thought, you know what, as transplant surgeon, our
expertise really is in the surgery and the immunosuppression and
the medication, but we really need to come together and
do a collaborative effort to educate the public as well
as coordinate the donation.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So they hired their very first.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Employee in nineteen seventy four, who happened to be a
social worker who was tasked with traveling out to the
various hospitals after somebody died to talk to families about donation.
Then if they were interested, you know, coordinated all the
different logistics that were involved. Early on, it was mostly
just kidney donation, and they came up with our probably
(01:55):
one of the best marketing things we've ever done was
our phone number, which is one eight hundred Kidney Won
And so it was very easy for hospital staff to
remember that, Hey, after our patient had died, all I
have to do is dial want to hinder kidney one,
and someone will come and help us with that. And
that was really then the origins of what we did.
(02:15):
In those early days, we coordinated maybe twenty four donors
a year. We're up to well over seven hundred, and
since the beginning of the national system, our community has
provided more donors and more transplant than in any other
community in the United States. And that's something that we're
very proud of because it takes a lot of work,
(02:37):
not just our staff, but the hospitals that we work with,
and then the selfless donors and their families who make
that decision to say yes at their worst possible time.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Justin first of all, thank you for joining us and
sharing your story. You've been on dialysis and you are
waiting for a kidney transplant since twenty twenty two. How
has this experience impacted you and your family?
Speaker 4 (03:01):
First of all, thank you for having me. It's an
honor to do this. It's impacted me and my family
by there are some things that you want to be
a part of, but unfortunately, due to doing the treatment
and having doctor's appointments, you unfortunately aren't able to be
(03:22):
a part of. Especially for my two boys. They have
practices in the morning, they have school trips, they have
school activities, they have different activities that would happen in
the morning. My time for a dialysis is six o'clock
in the morning, and that usually trickles and my duration
is four hours. They're starting school on Saturdays, they have
(03:45):
like a practice, they're doing trips. Of course in the morning,
they'll start from eight o'clock, Like as soon as school
starts in they're on their way to the trips and
I'm still in the chair doing treatment. It's away time
from family activities, doing things that you want to do
with your wife, getting things ready for a morning. Sometimes
(04:10):
you aren't able to do it because the first thing
you're thinking about and the first thing that you have
to do is get ready for treatment and go to treatment.
It really impacts time and impacts the time, and it
impacts the activities and the life events that you could
be missing out.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
One yeah, for hours out of a day is a
substantial part of your day, and not being able to
do the things that you'd like to do with your
family and friends has got to have a big impact.
I wonder if you can talk about what it was
like to get this diagnosis that said you have to
get a new kidney.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
To be completely honest, when the neuphrologists came in and
said that I have this condition. I was just like,
what do I have to do in order to get
myself better, keep myself healthy, stay around for my family,
owe me. You have to start dialysis immediately. We have
to try to get you on a list for a
(05:06):
kidney transplant. I was just like, Okay, I'm a religious person,
so I know that my faith would keep me strong,
would keep me positive. And it's been three years and
a few months since it's happened, and I am still positive.
I know miracle is going to come my way, and
(05:28):
not just me, not just me, all others who are
looking for a transplant in Oregon. A miracle will come
our way. And a positive attitude really helps you get
through a lot. When I heard the news, I could
have really moped. And I know how I am. Once
I get down on something, it takes a while to
really recover from it. So something that extreme, who knows
(05:51):
how long it would have taken me to recover from
it and get down on myself. But something inside of
me was just like, be positive.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So you made a choice. You made a choice to
stay positive and to maintain hope and prayer and faith
which is very, very wonderful to hear rick. Right now,
more than half the people on the wait list are
from communities of color. Why is it especially important for
black and brown communities to understand the need for organ
(06:21):
donations and to register and what are some of the
obstacles for making that happen more effectively?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Really, since the beginning of our program, organ donation and
transplant really is a neighbor helping neighbor scenario. Unfortunately, diabetes
and hypertension are more prevalent in the black and brown communities,
which leads to more kidney disease and more need for dialysis,
and unfortunately for transplantation, it's in some of those same
(06:48):
communities where a number of myths surrounding organ donation still
are there in terms of they won't do everything they
can to save my life if I put that donor
designation on my driver's license, and little do they know
that right next door, you know a block away, is
a patient like justin who's in need of a kidney transplant.
(07:09):
And so really making that connection and providing the education
on how donation and transplant works that by you saying yes,
you're really most likely going to be helping a neighbor
of you or someone that looks like you. Unfortunately, sixty
percent of the patients who are waiting for a kidney
transplant in Philadelphia are people of color. We have to
do more, not only in donation and transplant, but trying
(07:31):
to prevent kidney disease in the first place, so better health,
better control of diabetes and hypertension and things like that,
so that you never get to that waiting list and
that you you know, you keep your kidneys healthy. But
until then, we try to do as much as we
can in the public to educate folks. And really, you know,
having Justin here today and for him to tell his story,
(07:54):
no doubt we'll have an impact on a listener say, oh,
I didn't know it was somebody like Justin who could benefit,
and I'm going to rethink my decision.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
About donation and transplant.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
And so we just have to do more to make
that connection because we know end stage organ failure doesn't
know any different.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, Justin, clearly your faith has had a huge impact
on your ability to navigate this very challenging time in
your life. And I wonder if you can talk to
our listeners, those who are on the fence who are saying,
you know, it may not be for me. Little aside
I have or a donor on my license, I have
a living will. I am one hundred percent behind the
(08:35):
idea of being an organ donor if that time were
to come, and understand that the doctors will do everything
possible to keep me alive. If it's down to that,
there's no rush to take organs that don't belong. I mean,
it's just a myth that we have to overcome. So
I wonder if justin you can send a message out
(08:55):
to our listeners, the ones who are thinking it's not
for me. I don't think I'm for that. What would
you say to them?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
First of all, thank you for being an organ donor.
That means a lot to me, and all those who
are waiting for the right time and the right organ
to be transplanted into us really appreciate it and appreciating
ahead of time those who are organ donors, those who
(09:22):
have decided to do that, And for those who are
on the fence. I'm a comic book fan. I'm all
big with superheroes and all that you are, and for
those who are considering you will be a superhero because
what's the first thing that people think about with superheroes.
Superheroes save lives, and you will be a superhero. You
(09:44):
are saving a life. You are extending a life of
someone who wants to see their children grow up to
do extraordinary things. You are an example of just being
help to someone who needs it. And it's is it
a big decision? Absolutely? Absolutely, It's not a decision like
(10:08):
do I wear blue shoes? Do I wear brown shoes?
Am I going to when the time comes have a
part of me taken out of me and put into somebody.
Is it a hard decision? Is it a tough decision?
Is it a decision that you really have to sit
down and think about? Absolutely? But the benefits at the
(10:30):
end of the day, you are saving someone's life. You
are helping someone live out the rest of their life.
There can be so many things that people want to
do and they can't do it because they have this affliction,
they have this issue that's going on with them, and you,
being a future donor will really help them to live
(10:51):
out what they wanted to do and help families. It's
not just the person that needs the organ that you're
helping out, it's the families too. It's the families too.
It's the wives, it's the husbands's the children, grandchildren, cousins, uncles, aunts,
it's everyone in the village that you're helping out doing that.
(11:14):
So it's not just one person you're helping. It's not
just one life that you're saving. It's hundreds, it's dozens
of lives that you're saving. So if you're considering, I
hope that it's something that you can take in. You're
a true life superhero. Not all superheroes wear capes.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Well, I just have to say that I have had
the privilege and pleasure of interviewing many people who've been
the recipients of not only one organ but multiple organs,
And in each of those cases, I asked them, what
were you able to experience? And perhaps you weren't wouldn't
have been able to experience the marriage of children, the
(11:55):
birth of grandchildren, being able to run in a race
where they never were able to run before. And speaking
of race and dashing and walking and all those good things,
the Donor Dash is a powerful and emotional event that
happens every year. Rick, What does the twentieth annual Donor
Dash represent and how does it support the mission of
increasing donor awareness and registration.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yeah, it's really our signature event, Lorraine, to really bring
together the entire community of donation and transplant into one
spot at the showcase that transplantation works, that folks like
Justin who get an organ transplant can go back to
leading a normal life. It honors our donor heroes and
their families who made that decision to say yes. It
(12:40):
brings in all the transplant professionals really who without their expertise,
transplantation wouldn't happen. And it also recognizes the caregivers in
the ICUs, the physicians and nurses who work diligently twenty
four to seven to really care for donors in their
families so that they can say yes. Thus, it's an
(13:01):
opportunity to really support and get that message out. We
hope to have fifteen thousand people there on April twenty seventh.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
We'll have a lot of entertainment.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
We'll have some health fair benefit information in terms of
how to keep your organs healthy so you don't.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Have to get a transplant.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
There will be entertainment by Philadelphia Freeway, a kidney recipient
and a donor Dad. There's a lot of fun and
an activity that we're going to do and we'll have
a three k walk, five k run, and at a
ten k run, so something for all levels of athleticism.
And really it's just a great event and we really
invite the entire community to come out and celebrate. You know,
(13:41):
as part of our fiftieth anniversary, we're trying to sign
up fifty thousand new organ donors and we're at like
forty seven and change, and we need this extra push
for everyone to go to Donorswe dot organ to register
as a donor to be able to really help patients
like Justin who are in such desperate need of an
organ transplant.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
I just want to give a shout out to Gift
of Life because I know that run is a very
very very big event. But they do a lot of
things around this area, including like I said, I'm a
member of Saint Thomas Church in the Overbrook section of
West Philly. Twice a year, Gift of Life we do
a Gift of Life concert, they do a series, and
(14:25):
they do a service. There's actually like an organ doornation
service that we do one Sunday a year. So Gift
of Life is they're always out they're always putting the
word out that donation is something that is helpful for everyone,
and they've been doing it for this long and they're very, very,
(14:47):
very helpful with spreading that word.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
That's great, and you're talking about donor Sabbath, which happens
every year, and that's wonderful that your church is so engaged.
And I also want to just comment back to something
you said. It and be a difficult decision, but it
can also be a very easy decision because at the
end of the day, all you have to do is
go on to the website donorswe dot org and sign up,
(15:09):
sign up, and forget it. It's like it's not going
to impact you unless God forbids something were to happen,
and then you would know you would have the comfort
of knowing that your organs would go to save someone's
life like yours justin or to provide a cornea for
someone to restore their site, or a burn victim to
(15:31):
help them heal. There's so many different things that organ
donation can do, and while it can be challenging for
some people to think about it, it can also be
as easy as checking out that website and what is
that website, Rick.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
It's donorswe dot org.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
And I always like to say it only takes about
thirty seconds to register. About thirty seconds can mean the
lifetime for somebody else.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Yeah, and having lost someone to kidney disease, and knowing
individuals who have been living donors, also knowing people that
are on the transplant list, knowing people My brother in
law is a two time kidney transplant recipient. So clearly,
organ donation is something that deeply, deeply I care about
(16:16):
and anyone out there listening. It is so simple and
you can be a superhero, just like Justin said, by
signing up with Gift of Life. Go to donorswe dot
org and of course the donor dash and what is
the date on that again.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
April twenty seventh's first run is starting at nine am.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Fantastic and I will be there and I will be
there with my shoes, my sneakers on, ready to maybe walk,
but support and regardless. And I want to thank you
both for shining a light on the fiftieth anniversary of
Gift of Life doing so much life saving work for
so many people. And of course Richard has who is
(16:56):
the president and CEO of Gift of life. And Justin Truttman,
a Philly native, a husband, a father, someone who is
on the transplant list. Let's make sure that he is
able to get the kidney transplant that he needs to
save his life and to allow him to be the father,
the son, the husband that he wants to be to
his family going forward. And we thank you both for
(17:18):
joining us here today. Thank you so much, and sign
up donorswe dot org. That is the website. Do it now,
It's so simple. Thirty seconds has Rick said, so thank
you both for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Thanks Lorene, thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Thank you
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