Third Quarter Feature: LifeQuest Ambassadors of the Month

Throughout 2020, LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services has recognized Ambassadors of the Month to bring more attention to those who generously volunteer much of their time to organ donation outreach. In this blog, we showcase our three ambassadors for the third quarter and ask each of them questions related to their time volunteering.

 

July Ambassador of the Month: Demarcus Graham

1.)  What caused you to become an ambassador?

I wanted an opportunity to try and help others receive a transplant, too.

2.)  Why do you find being an ambassador important?

I think being an ambassador is important because my story is no different than others in need of organ transplants, but while waiting, I was willing to share my story. I hope to help others receive transplants by sharing the need.

3.)  Why would you encourage others to become LifeQuest Ambassadors?

I would and will continue to encourage anyone to become an ambassador because your story could encourage someone to become a living donor or register as an organ donor. Helping others is the biggest reward one can receive.

4.)  Why do you encourage others to register as organ donors?

We simply don’t know what tomorrow brings for any of us. If, God forbid, tragedy befalls someone, several lives can be saved through donation.

 

August Ambassador of the Month: Betty Morales

1.)What caused you to become an ambassador?

 I have been a volunteer coordinator with Big Bend Hospice for 19 years and have seen the impact and the importance of supporting an organization. I believe everyone should find the time and make the effort to volunteer for what they believe in. If education or children are important to you then you should volunteer for a school or organization that helps children. If you worry about homeless or hungry then help in shelters or food banks. We all have a responsibility to help each other. I learned about LifeQuest when my husband, Robert, and I were at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville for his series of testing for a kidney transplant.  I looked them up and registered to become a volunteer.  I just want to do my part in helping to help.

2.)  Why do you find being an ambassador important?

I really enjoy working with Kim Gilmore, public education coordinator at LifeQuest.  She is so knowledgeable and she is passionate about teaching people about the importance of being an organ donor.  In her presentation, she discusses the number of people waiting for transplants, the average time they wait and how many people die waiting.  The statistics alone are heartbreaking but having an opportunity to share my story, gives a face and a human connection to the importance of organ donation. 

3.) What do you enjoy about volunteering?

When I applied to become a volunteer, I thought I was going to help with projects, health fairs or special events.  In the middle of my training, Kim tells me she often has volunteers accompany her on presentations and share their personal stories. My immediate reaction was I can’t do that. I will get very emotional and I don’t even have a happy ending yet. Kim reassured me saying, “You don’t have to, but people need to understand what it is like when life is so uncertain, what it is like to wait and worry.” I was still unsure but decided I would try, and every single time I have had an opportunity to share our story, someone has encouraged me or lifted my spirits. I have even had high school teenagers offer to give me a hug or tell me they are going to pray for me and that it is going to be ok. It gives me hope.

4.)  Why would you encourage others to become LifeQuest Ambassadors?

When we experience tragedies and difficult times and uncertainties, it is easy to feel very alone in our fear and grief. Volunteering with LifeQuest helps me to feel less alone. It gives me a connection to people who know what they are doing and a connection to other people who have been touched by organ donation. It also gives me an opportunity to share with the community about the importance of becoming organ donors and answer questions. There are so many misconceptions. Although we are still on the waiting list, I feel like maybe I am a little part of the solution. I would encourage others to volunteer because people need to hear our stories, and it is very uplifting to find that even strangers care and want to help when you share.

5.)  Why do you encourage people to register as organ donors?

I think many people do not understand organ donation and we need more people to share their stories.  I have worked for hospice for a long time. I know how difficult it is to lose someone you love. Organ donation gives people a chance at life – a new life.  I also try to share the importance of advance directives and the important discussions families need to have. No one ever wants to be in a position to have to make those decisions for a loved one, but they might be able to be the answer to another family’s prayers.  

 I am very grateful for the support I have from LifeQuest and hope to continue to share our story, especially after my husband’s transplant one day.

 

September Ambassador of the Month: Cliff Gionet

1.) What caused you to become an ambassador?

In 2009 my son died.  He had registered as a tissue and organ donor, and while he could not donate organs, his tissue, bones, skin and corneas were donated. Several years after Jason died, I had the opportunity to attend a procurement procedure.  That was a life-altering event.  I witnessed a miracle as the organs were procured that would have been wasted had the donor not registered. I then had the incredible opportunity to attend a second procurement operation and witness the heart transplant. Lives are saved by donation, and the Gift of Life is perhaps the greatest gift of all.

2.)  Why do you find being an ambassador important?

People die needlessly because more people do not register. If I can register one person who becomes a donor, they might have the chance to benefit up to 75 recipients. There are millions of potential donors just waiting for someone to convince them that they need to register. I am one of the many people trying to do just that.  

3.)  What do you enjoy about volunteering?

I have met thousands of people from all walks of life. I have met many recipients, donor family members, and incredible ambassadors. We are all connected in the quest to prevent needless deaths and suffering due to the lack of available organs. You feel like you are part of a team of miracle workers.  

4.)  Have you developed any new friendships through our Donate Life community?

 Few of us ever have the chance to save lives. Volunteering as a LifeQuest Ambassador gives you the chance to perhaps save many, many lives. There are lots of opportunities and your schedule, interests and abilities can be accommodated. It is incredibly rewarding to register a potential donor. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that someday your work may save many, many lives.

5.)  Why do you encourage people to register as organ donors?

 I received a letter from a recipient of some of my son’s spine.  The recipient could walk after receiving the transplant, and he could then care for his wife who was confined to a wheelchair with MS. I met a man who cried while holding my hand because he and his children did not choose to donate his late wife’s organs. I tell the story of the living donor who gave a kidney to a friend’s son. I tell people of the hug I received from the mother of a five-month-old baby who received a heart transplant because some other child’s parents decided to donate organs.  The process is critically important.  It is powerful to be involved in the process.  There may be no more important work to be done then to try and help save the lives of the thousands of people waiting for organs.