Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus and NJ Sharing Network Promote Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness During Donate Life Month

In honor of National Donate Life Month in April, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus and the NJ Sharing Network recently teamed up for “Donate Life,” an event held at the hospital to promote tissue and organ donation awareness and to remember those who gave the gift of life.

Medical professionals and community leaders were joined by organ donation recipients and the family members of organ donors. One such person was Tabernacle resident Gail Clegg, who chose to donate her 14-year-old son’s organs after he was struck by a car in 2008. Her son Sean saved the lives of six people waiting for an organ – a heart, liver, right lung, two kidneys and a pancreas – as well as enhanced the lives of countless others in need of bone and tissue donations. Clegg, whose family’s story has made national and international headlines, shared her son’s story at the April event in Lakewood.

“Sean is still living in other people,” said Clegg, adding that she knew her son would have wanted some positivity to come from the tragedy. “The night he passed away and after we made the decision to donate his organs, we discovered he had updated his social media profile with a quote that very morning – ‘we all die, the goal is to create something that lives forever.’”

In New Jersey, approximately 5,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ. At Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, almost 700 people underwent transplant surgeries with the help of tissue donors. When a donation occurs, the medical center – and its sister hospitals throughout the Barnabas Health system – raises the NJ Sharing Network flag to honor and raise awareness for the patient and family. In 2014, the Sharing Network flag was raised twice for individuals who donated organs for three other people.

“Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus is committed to raising awareness about organ donation,” said Judy Colorado, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus. “We have been working closely with NJ Sharing Network for a number of years to provide education and support and recovery for organ donors and recipients.”

“I am inspired to acknowledge our wonderful hospital partners – without your support, dedication and commitment, the meaningful work we do together would never be possible,” said Missy Peck, Hospital Services Manager for the Sharing Network. “The opportunity for donation is so rare. It is important to honor those who gave, pay tribute to those who received, offer hope to those who continue to wait, and remember the lives lost while waiting for the gift of life.”

Clegg, who remains in contact with many of the people who received her son’s organs, said, “We didn’t have a choice in how my son passed away, but we did have a choice in how he would be remembered. It’s important to have open discussions now and talk to your family about your wishes.”

For more information on NJ Sharing Network or to register to be an organ donor, visit www.njsharingnetwork.org. For more information on Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, visit www.barnabashealth.org.

PHOTO:

Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus and the NJ Sharing Network recently hosted “Donate Life” celebration, where advocates for organ donation could share their stories and relay the importance of organ donation awareness. Pictured here are, from left, Missy Peck, Hospital Services Manager for the Sharing Network; Gail Clegg, of Tabernacle, who became an organ donation awareness advocate after donating her late son’s organs in 2008; Judy Colorado, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus; and Rich Hayes, a Princeton Junction resident and organ donation recipient who received a liver five years ago.

About Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus:
Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus is an acute-care community hospital located in Lakewood, Ocean County. A Barnabas Health facility, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus merged with Monmouth Medical Center, a teaching hospital located in Long Branch, Monmouth County, in 2014. The hospitals are dedicated to improving the health and well being of the communities they proudly serve through expanded access to specialty outpatient services that focus on preventive medicine and healthy living. The partnership has also expanded patients’ access to geriatric and pediatric emergency services, as well as outpatient neurology, oncology and geriatric services. Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus is in the process of converting to all private rooms, which will make it the only provider in the region with all private rooms for overnight stays. For more information about Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, visit www.barnabashealth.org.