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Pocono News Section
Honoring Those Who Give the Gift of Life
Honoring Those Who Give the Gift of Life - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 5:55PM EST
Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Friday, Jun 19, 2009 @ 05:55pm EST
Elysburg, Northumberland County-
It was quite a picnic Friday at Knoebel’s Amusement Park for a very special group of people.
Geisinger Medical Center hosted its 4th annual transplant celebration.
Over a thousand people gathered here at Knoebel’s, all with one thing in common. They’ve either given or received the gift of life through organ donation.
Organizers of the annual picnic say it’s a chance for donors, recipients, and doctors to get together for a day of fun and celebration.
Dr. Chintalapati Varma, Director of Transplant Services at Geisinger, explained, “Here we meet the families, the friends, the pets. They introduce us to their pets. You know those are important for them.”
Each year the event has grown. Patients and their families say they appreciate the chance to forget their problems for a day and enjoy a few smiles and laughs.
Judy Potratz came to the picnic with her brother Bob Teeple, who suffered from polycystic kidney disease. Judy gave Bob one of her kidneys last year.
She said, “I love my brother more than life and to give him a good quality of life, rather than him being on dialysis, he now is healthy and able to do everything and it’s just a wonderful thing.”
Teeple noted, “My life was literally given to me, for the remainder of my life, however long that may be. It’s a gift that, in my opinion, there’s no better gift you can give.”
Doctors here say becoming an organ donor is easy, generous, and most importantly, safe.
Dr. Varma added, “There’s a myth that if you are an organ donor that you will not get 100% care. That is totally wrong.”
You can sign up to become an organ donor online, or when you get or renew your driver’s license.
Geisinger officials say there are as many as 100,000 people waiting for organ donations in the United States. | | |
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