Hello and welcome to the gifted like podcast where we have conversations about organ tissue and eye donation. I'm Reese I'm Joey Boudreau. I'm Sally Tintry and this is a special episode why a big five oh Episode that is crazy back to episode one did we make it to this after it took us four hours to record one Four hours. I'm second it you mean.
Yeah, we have some stumbles getting out of the gate, but now we're galloping That's it horse reference for you miss out. Oh, thank you so much look It is so great to be with you guys to share all this info to people out there listening about organ tissue and eye donation Fantastic here. We thought we were gonna pick up Sally for like two episodes are here and there talking about family and grief But I won't leave you Love this so much But it's just the chemistry that we've got going on here with our partners from across the country We're learning we're saving more lives and guess what if you're listening you are part of our team and we celebrate you today And we thank you we're pulling in some star power on episode 50 I'm still amazed by that guys But good morning America's Robin Roberts and her sister of New Orleans fame Sally Ann Roberts of WLTV will join us to talk about their story Which is pretty powerful and listen you can hear that sister bond you want to stay tuned and then we're gonna follow that up I'm talking about be the match org and how you can become a bone marrow donor And then we're gonna share with you the story of two best friends who have a similar connection through bone marrow donation Listen power pack. We're gonna inspire you today.
Hopefully you'll be prompted to take action join our team Which is making life happen? That's what our mission our goal is and you're part of it and listen you can start by just sharing the podcast Share and of course as always you can find us on iTunes Google play or whatever your favorite podcast that maybe yeah If you're on social media on Facebook a lot of what we talk about you can see on our Facebook It's donate life Louisiana Twitter and Instagram. We're at donate life la and don't forget you can reach us at five zero four six four eight Three four seven seven. Yeah, we started the hotline remember when we had a hotline we thought we're legit now So we have a hotline that's for you to call in tell us your story.
What has impacted you we want to hear about it Your audio could be used on this podcast, but you heard it We have a lot to get to guys you guys ready ready episode 50 here we go On this our 50th episode of a gifted life podcast we are honored to be joined by two southern women if you will We're gonna claim them who are tough as nails filled with faith and huge donation advocates working alongside us in an effort to save more lives Join me now in welcoming Good Morning America's Robin Roberts and WWLTV's Sally Ann Roberts out of New Orleans to our podcast. Hi ladies. Hello. Thank you Hi, thank you very much for having me.
So excited especially Robin. I was telling him earlier basically throughout my entire high school in college time You were a part of my household every single morning. I would listen to you over and over on those 30 many clips of a sports center I appreciate that well we join your personal journey in 2012 and then of course Robin That's when you were diagnosed with mild dysplastic syndrome in yes Which is a rare blood in Omero disorder and then you Sally Ann donated your bone marrow in order to save your sister's life You too inspired you've inspired so many myself included and I was wondering do you guys have any regrets at all about going public With the story. Oh gosh absolutely not.
I am so Incredibly blessed that my sister was a match We are very fortunate there are four of us four siblings and my other two siblings weren't even close to being a match And Sally Ann with a perfect match and people feel if you have a family member that thought a Mac that they're going to be a match Or a perfect match that only happens 30% of the time three out of ten times so 70% of the time you need a perfect stranger to save your life And I am so grateful that going public were able to share this information and Sally Ann is every bit a part of my journey a very important part to share with people to show them how you can Step up and and she would have done that. I mean even if I would not her sister And so people need to just know the whole process what it entails and and more importantly You know when I told Sally Ann that she was a match I first y'all I had asked did you still want to go through with that because there are many times people put themselves on a registry and Then when they get the call for whatever reason they'll decide not to do it So I had to give her an out if you will and I will never and I've shared as many times And it still brings me to tears when I asked her and that she wanted to do it And she didn't hesitate and said not only do I want to do it sister Dear dear I feel I was born to do this and I'm so happy that I was able to do this so often when we have a loved one Who is is going through an illness we're not able to do anything But in this case I was able to do something and I'm just grateful to God that I was a match for Robin And I do feel though for those who are still looking for their match And they depend on the National Marrow donor registry and our mother taught us that you make your message your message And so my own public with this we hope that this will encourage others to donate There are people who have told me that they have family members who are matched to be a perfect match or a near perfect match And the family members were scared and didn't want to do this And I have also heard that as Robin said There are those who will join the registry and then for whatever reason when it's time and their that call comes They declined to accept and I think if I can do anything it would be to alleviate the fear of becoming a donor it was a very easy process It was as easy as giving blood in my case and and I would do this for anyone So let me tell you that I'm glad that she's telling you all this because I have to admit of my siblings when they said Sally and I was like oh she had my needles A little bit of a little nilly about some things That's why so important for people to know the process and so for her to share her side of it I think it was more painful for me to watch her but she wasn't any slight discomfort and I remember that her came with going on She had her laptop out and I'm crying y'all because because I'm seeing her blood being taken from her body and to see that the The bone marrow was being extracted stem cells were being extracted and it was going into a bag that had my name on it This white naming bag and all I could think about is there's so many people who don't have that opportunity Who want to see their name on a life-saving bag like that and and to watch her and to know that yes There was some discomfort but not be I mean pain and there are different variations of how the stem cells can be extracted from a donor Yes, and I will say this when I have a blood test, you know, they just draw blood I cover my eyes and you It's just a thought of it, but then again, let me tell you the April recess process that is used I was able to follow the news on my laptop I was just sitting there and it was the easiest thing in the world and after they finished drawing the amount of blood They needed after a few hours I got up and had a great dinner with with Robin and went back the next day for the finishing of the process and let me tell you There is no better feeling in the world than to be sitting next to my sister's bed or standing next to my sister's bedside As my blood was being given to her or the part of the blood that they had collected for this given to her and our sister Dorothy and friends and ministers gathered around Robin's bedside as they transplant was administered and we just prayed and we just Thank God for the healing that Robin is enjoying and we pray that others will be able to enjoy Thank you. Well, and I think for you to share this story and the people that you have helped and those who will be helped in the future Who find themselves in a similar situation? To hear you talk about this and to hear the passion and what it's meant for you as a family is something that I'm sure You're hoping and we all hope that others will hear it and want to step up and help out Well, that is our hope that is when you were asking us earlier that we have any regrets going public and as Sally And said our mom taught us make your message and and no regret without at all because there's so many people that have reached out to me I've had people here that have come to New York people I talked to on the phone who are in the same situation and and needing a donor There was a young family that was here at Sickle cell anemia and this young girl needs a donor and I just oh my gosh It's just so hard and you know that we brought awareness You know people knew that they could donate their blood and they knew that they can donate different organs But we really put it into the public conversation What about stem cells about bone marrow there were people are like huh and it's truly and it's telling me I would agree to it To be used as a messenger and we feel that that is part of our journey here under why we were put here is to be a messenger And you guys talk about you know that life-saving bag It kind of melted my heart a minute when you mentioned it and Robin there's someone that we have common ties to Someone The same sensation that you know that that caught our attention in our hearts So wasn't that the cutest kid ever oh my goodness when he came up here and the Saints were very much a part of what we were doing And to make him you know part of the team so to speak and he said you don't have to tell me twice He's got a little that little contract But to see you look his desire It's so infectious and so many ways his spirit and knowing that he is in need of a donor and he's in he's the face of so many That we have and I didn't realize until I was diagnosed with as you said my little dysbastic syndrome MDS Which used to be known as pre leukemia.
Let me tell you not pre about it Those referred but there's there upwards of 70 different conditions where a bone marrow transplant has the potential to save a life I mentioned about sickle cell anemia leukemia those kind of different kind of disorders like that and to see jereus But to still to see that spirit in that fight that he has one of the highlights definitely for me to see him And we enjoyed having jereus on the island this morning news and anyone who meets this young man this child knows that This is why you donate this is why you give because he has so much potential You know he's gonna do great and wonderful things in his life And we just need to make sure that others have that opportunity exactly and so if you've missed this part He is waiting on a liver transplant that he visited us here in the gift-life podcast studio And we knew that he had met you know these powerful duo these sisters and we can hear that sister bond guys And so I said hey Do you have any secrets you can share with us about you know meeting these ladies and he said no oh he said a gentleman never tails Daddy jordy talking the same vein that you guys were talking about they're trying to soak up as much life as possible make as many Memories as possible you guys were there you remember that part right you remember that moment in your own lives. Oh gosh I can't I can't believe it's been going on five years now And to do to remember that moment of hearing about the diagnosis and to reach out to my siblings and family and to go through You know our mother our dear mother passed shortly It was when Sally Anne was in New York and she was going through the process of having first themselves recovered and mama had a stroke About a month earlier she had been recovering But then had a setback and our sister Dorothy told us we needed to come home because our mother was making her journey to her heavenly home And it was almost like my mom knew that my sister was going to save me that the that she knew the transplant was taking place And then it was shortly before I was to have the transplant so you just think about those times I think when I when I think of jerry is in the young woman that I met who's going through sickle cell anemia And you just you it's like my dear friend Pat summit left foot right with me keep moving keep believing keep hoping And that's what you can never give up hope and hope is always there And you meet so many people like I'm gonna be talking to Emily Hines who is a cancer survivor And she says that it makes an under Robin can identify with this that it makes every day so much more special every moment that you have When you're diagnosed with with a disease that could cause you to leave this earth And then you were given a reprieve as Emily has been given and as Robin has been given It just makes you appreciate the gift of life all that much more and we just want to see more people have this gift of life And that's why what you are doing through the Louisiana Oregon procurement agency is so vital Well Sally ant here in the New Orleans area, there's been a lot of local effort to get the word out about donation And what I'm wondering is you know You have been just instrumental in helping get hundreds on both the bone marrow Red Street and the organ tissue and I read street and you've done a lot of donor drives and the telephone heading up to your donation And plus you've had some of our lopa staff on your program along with donor families and recipients So all that leading up to what what do you see as major challenges to get people involved in want them to sign up and help others What does that look like from your side? It's awareness awareness awareness a lot of people are not aware that when they get their drivers license They can just indicate that they are willing to be a donor that takes their family members off the hook knowing what their desires are And people were just aware more aware And that's why lopa is so important you are getting the word out and more and more people are joining the registry And I thank you for all of your help here locally in getting the the National Bone Marrow Registry acknowledge because there are a lot of people who heard about the organization But they didn't know about how easy it is to be on the National Marrow donor registry And by simply making people aware and then with the stories to that's why Jerry is so important Because people need to connect a big they need to connect the light the more we can do to let people know about the need I think people will respond because people are generally giving in kind and and and they and I think if anyone knew You know what you could say the life of a child Simply by being on the donor registry and you might say the life of a child in another country Right, there are people who would step forward and say if I would do that But you don't know if you're not on the registry that someone is waiting for you your positive attitude is just infectious How wonderful from both of you all I got a from her I got her DNA now Saying I love I know I've always loved my big sister And I have never loved her more and I used to say because he is this what you see is what you get and I get a cavity every time I Have that positive energy, but I also have her allergies now I love that I have a big sister. I love just like you love Sally and I love that Mm-hmm.
I just want to say to about my sister Robin I don't know of anyone more courageous than Robin I have seen her weather the storms of life and she weather those storms courageily in her hospital room She had pictures on the wall the places she planned to visit she was always looking forward and always hopeful and my sister is It is just a wonderful gift from God and I'm so blessed to have her in my life Let me say this one thing about courage and strength because Those people that will be listening to this and who have gone through their challenges and as I wrote Everybody's got something MDS and breast cancer happen to be my something but everybody's got something and I was always trying to why do people label us as being Strong and courageous when we're going through something like this and I just realized that it reveals the strength That is within and I say that to everyone so you don't know the strength that you have I didn't know what was within me and I would have loved to have learned it a different way But that's how it was chosen for me and so I say to everyone listening We are all a little bit stronger than we think we are and if these challenges that help they don't they don't make us courageous They reveal that we are courageous within us. Yes, you made your mess your message I agree amen to that and I do believe that a life is a series and you go through a tunnel and there's light at the end of the tunnel But life is not just one tunnel It's it's many tunnels long Do you live the more tunnels you go through but we gain strength in the tunnels when we are faced with challenges? That's when we our muscles are our faith muscles grow and Our courage grows and as you go through one tunnel and you come out and you enjoy the light you say wow I made it so for those who are going through something right now Just know that there was light at the end of this tunnel and that you will have something that you can give That's why I'm so proud of my sister Robin because she takes the time to respond to people who call and who write to her asking for some encouragement because she remembers what it was like to be encouraged by others as she was going through it and When you go through something it makes you a better able to comfort someone else and to encourage and inspire someone else Well, you got a great support system there between the two you guys. I'm inspired I'm encouraged Robin you mentioned everybody's got something we know you have a podcast Robin podcast calm We hear you say on that podcast power of one story power of one life You're on the gifted life.
We say it takes one person to make a difference So we seem aligned and we're trying to do is save lives But one person one story can change lives right ladies That's it and people need to know that I'm so happy that you all share that vision and that you're that you're there to To tell these wonderful stories and it just takes one act one story one person And that we're all in this we're all in this together and to keep looking keep looking forward You know, it's Ellie and she said to me she said it takes courage to believe the best is yet to come I remember her saying that to me takes courage to believe the best is yet to come and because of the work that you all are doing You are making that possible for people to have better days ahead of them And I'm gonna use you know, she had the tunnel analogy I think about this, you know, you're in a car and there's a windshield looking forward and there's a rear-view mirror There's a reason why the windshield is bigger than the rear-view mirror keep looking forward keep looking through that And going through your tunnel, but I'm always about moving forward and I am so grateful to organizations like yours What my sister has done we are People who are going through something as I have gone through I will be the first one to say That I'm blessed, but I'm also lucky. I'm so lucky that I have the wonderful people that have Surrounded me and and so incredibly grateful for that and and that's why that's why we're having this podcast That's why you're doing what you're doing. We want to share more stories. I want to hear more stories I'm happy that we can share ours, but they're others that are out there and we want to make sure that we are able to provide Happy endings for other stories by the work that you're doing and I'm so grateful that you're doing that you're there doing that And I would say that Lopa do not become weary in well-doing Know that you are making a difference that the stories that you are telling are Encouraging people to to become donors and it's also you're telling stories that are encouraging those who are going through health challenges That they too can make it through I met a family while Robin was going through the MDS Miss family had a daughter who donated to her sister and they invited me to their home to see their daughters playing outside on their outdoor trampoline the daughter with the MDS fully recovered and It was just amazing to hear the parents the parents of these two young children and I asked them how did you get through it and The the father said we did not focus on illness.
We focused on life after illness He said that's what I tell people don't look at where you are now. Look at where you're going. Look to that windshield Heartless family y'all like this and they always say after everything it'll be greater later. I'll leave you with that Thank you ladies, Robin Roberts Yes, let me share one thing in my dressing room here in New York and Sally and has seen this I you know, I love to say this to show past and I have this placard it says this to show past now would be good I love that.
Thank you ladies Robin Roberts and Sally and Roberts two strong women two sisters teaming to make a difference Thanks for being the leaders you are ladies. Thank you for your good work in our community Joining us now on the podcast and is Mary Hallet the director of community engagement or be the match hey miss Mary Hello, we just talked to some friends of yours. I believe Robin Roberts and Sally Ann Roberts ring a bell Well, they were so grateful to be the match they talked about their journey But from your perspective those two women sharing their story and being so passionate about donation Tell us what that look like from where you sit. Oh my goodness so powerful and we can never underestimate the Connection that people other people can have and just hearing and seeing their story and what a difference we can make in the lives of others Around us by becoming that donor by becoming that life saver.
Sally Ann gave to Robin what her doctors couldn't do And she did it generously and selflessly and that's what this is all about It's amazing and we talked about the power of one one story one person making a difference and we can see that one of the things that We discussed was that if you know somebody who's impacted then you're more likely to be engaged and to do something about it That was my case my sister-in-law is battling an illness and there is talk about a possible Mero donation needed so I immediately signed up on the registry and it was different than the organ eye and tissue registry for us You fill out information either online at the o and v but for you guys Let's talk about that and how you get on the registry when it comes to be the match great Well, first of all, thank you for joining that simple act gave so much hope to patients who are relying on to save their life So thank you very much when people join the beat a match registry. We need demographic information Of course and you know age sex ethnic background We also need a personal contact because if we can't find you we're gonna need to talk to somebody who can help us find you Because by the time you come up as a match for somebody There's a tight timeline that's taking for that patient and we have to hustle and it's important that we're able to reach donors immediately We also ask some basic medical information because we're gonna need to know that you're healthy and that you're healthy to be part of the registry and Should you ever donate it's gonna be a procedure for you? But it's also then going to be a beneficial procedure for that patient who needs a bromereal transplant now in the community Educating we try to get out in the community as much as possible Which is where I signed up learned about it and then took that step But is that what you guys try to do you try to send educators out to talk about no nations dispel some of those myths? Yeah, that's a very important and primary task of our program is to bring the awareness of the registry to communities across the country Many still do not know that we exist and many have misconceptions about what it means to actually be a bone marrow donor And that's our job.
Our job is to ensure that the public really understands So we are doing educational events every day and we spent a lot of time on college campuses in particular And that's because transplant centers prefer stem cells from younger donors that make sense because the younger we are the healthier our bodies are The healthy our bone marrow is so we spend a lot of time in those environments and speaking with young adults We work to demystify the notion of bone marrow donation truthfully Hollywood has not been very kind to this process They've spent a lot of the dramatization about donation, which isn't real So we try to explain what what it means and you know 75% of the work that we do is a donation called a peripheral blood stem cell collection And that's where the donor receives a medication to wrap up their immune system for about five days to push those Immatures out into the peripheral blood and then we collect them a lot like a platelet donation It's not surgery fully awake sit in a recliner for several hours and then the stem cells are collected We did that most of the time now about 25% of the time we do the traditional bone marrow collection And that's typically for pediatric patients And the reason why is there less risks of long-term complications for those children who receive their stem cells through bone marrow Our bodies are pretty interesting and and that is a surgical procedure But it's usually same day the donors fully asleep during the process wakes up may have a sore backside for a few days But that's it. It's not what people might think it would be Well, you just educated me Mary because I thought that you know the primary way that you can donate is through the bone marrow aspiration and as a nurse I had help with bone marrow aspirations And that's kind of what I thought about when I thought about bone marrow donation So the fact that you can donate just like a platelet donation That's a huge advancement I would think you're about 75% of the work that we do is through that type of procedure You have convinced me unfortunately, I'm not a young college age. I'm 43 now Feeling good shake for her Sign up before your 44th birthday go to the website right now I will so if I sign up now, can I still donate at 45 or is that absolutely no everyone stays on the registry until their 61st birthday So between the registry are individuals between ages of 18 and 61 However, we focus our recruitment attention on people between ages of 18 and 44 and for that very important reason You know the younger the donor the veteran so we're just we're just growing the registry with as many young people as we can We also know that there are people who have Unique tissue types and so that's why we're maintaining people until their 61st birthday in case, you know Someone who is over the age of 45 really is their best option. Well, I'm very interested and I'm going to register So how do I do that?
Yeah? Well quite simply go to our website be the match org and you'll see a button at the top That's this join and click the button you can complete all of your information online And we will mail you it's Bob kit that has four long tip like you tips cotton swabs You'll swap the inside of your chicken send it back and that is it that's so easy a caging can do it I Love that and then when we were talking to Sally in she too had those myths that you were we're talking about But she said basically she had her computer up. She was surfing the web doing work all while this was going on And so she said it wasn't what she thought it was going into it So that has to help getting the word out absolutely Sally and to share her experience is so valuable because it helps donors understand really what is involved What does a donation look like? How does that impact me and my daily activities?
How might I feel all of that? So we're really grateful that she is sharing her story and experience because it helps people make that decision clearer Our prompt them to take action at some point because we talk about it But you know to really like the bullet and do it is a different story correct Mary There's a question I'd like to ask is that Sally and Robin of course being sisters already knew donor and recipient But I did see on your website about sharing stories between donors and recipients and that you have had some that have met Yes, so you know we generally talk with the donor family talk with the recipient in both agree That's we just kind of move forward with that is that similar to what you all do or is there a process you go through? Well, it's probably a little bit different So all of the donations are done anonymously we very rigorously protect the confidentiality of both the patient and the donor So the patient does not know who the donor is and the donor does not know who the patient is And the donor could be anywhere in the world the patient could be anywhere in the world be the match is a global registry And we work with many programs across the entire globe to make certain we can find match donors for patients and likewise They're also searching our file. So all that to say is we respect and treat the identity of donors and recipients with the highest level of integrity and confidentiality Depending on the country and their rules Donors and patients can meet each other after a particular time has elapsed in the case of either match here in the United States For patients who are here in the u.s.
They can meet their donor after one year as long as both parties consent and agree to it So and we have a process that we can help fulfill what's happening also I'd like to ask you when I was on the website I saw where you have a booklet titled the caregivers companion And I saw we're finding positives and what's happening on their journey along with you know the coping with the rollercoaster of emotions What sort of staff do you have that's working with families to help guide them through this? Oh wonderful That's a fantastic question. We have an area within our organization called patient and health professional services And it's a team of summer social workers summer nurses and they help families through this process So they will point them to different resources that they might need in terms of other transplant centers that perhaps Specialize in their disease they may point them in the direction of different financial resources to help them maybe fundraise They have resources on how to appeal to your insurance company. They have many many different Resource available they have volunteers available who have been caregivers and who have been patients so that when people are embarking on this journey They have someone that they can talk to who can help guide them and offer what it really meant to experience They also provide tool kits like you described or developed tool kits like you described and found on our website to help the caregivers Navigate through the next steps Transled recovery is a long process Most patients are in the hospital for 60 to 100 days after the transplant and you might imagine that can be very disruptive to a family Parents sometimes have to quit their jobs to be with their child while their child is going to transplant people who are going to transplant Have to quit their jobs.
They can't work while they're going through this or they may have to have a very long and extended leave of absence from their work So it's very disruptive and a caregiver is critical to ensuring that that patient is Coming to their follow-up appointments and are having their blood checks done and are monitoring for infection and monitoring for any signs of Problems with the new stem cell so it's very comprehensive And that's why this department is there is to help both the caregiver and the patient get all the way to that end game which the one-year post transplant is a day of celebration and You know, I remember when Robin came back to work and when she hit that mark that was amazing It was remarkable. So that's where we want to get all of our patients to. That's great excellent information. Thank you You're welcome.
I'm glad you touched on volunteers I was going to ask you that and the organ eye and tissue donation world We encourage our donor families our recipients to join us in the community and spread that story We think that makes us successful in getting the word out you too. Absolutely We are involving donors who've donated to share the story patients who have received transplants to share their story Family members of patients to share their story and what it meant to have a total stranger step up and help their loved one be their disease So yeah volunteer stories are so critical and we need them Yeah, and that's what I focus on as well And I signed up years ago and I still hear from you guys with updates in the emails that kind of thing So we like the way you do that be the match.org is where we want folks to go, right? Correct be the match that org one stop shop for all the information everything is there You will see a section on joining the registry There's a section on making financial contributions and support to help patients move through their transplant journey There's resources for patients on that website. There's basic information about the donation process itself.
Absolutely. It's it's a great resource for really good information And you are great resource as well miss Mary. We appreciate you joining us here on the get-to-like podcast. Thank you ma'am You are welcome.
Thank you for the time. I really appreciate it Today we're changing things up in our honor hero segment today's heroes will be from our partners at either match org The pair of heroes we're talking about today is going to be Brad and Miranda Yeah, here's their story guys best friends Brad and Miranda joined be the match registry at different times different reasons, right? So Brad signed up online after a friend posted on Facebook about a friend with leukemia Miranda was at a campus blood drive and she was asked if she'd like to sign up as a meadow donor as well two years later Miranda got the call asking if she'd donate to a man in his 70s That was the same age as her grandpa not long after Brad got a similar call asking if he would donate for a woman also in her 70s Brad and Miranda both ended up donating peripheral blood stem cells within five days of each other for four days leading up to her donation Miranda received shots to increase the number of blood forming cells in her body She says the shots were not very pleasant, but I reminded myself that the pain only lasted five seconds I made it through a full day of school and in the end never missed a class Brad's donation went quickly as well It was a strange sensation He said but not negative it was actually relaxing the total time at the hospital was about six hours for him Brad and Miranda both received updates their patients are out of the hospital and doing well well Or more on that story and others like it you can visit either match that org or more of our hero stories for organ tissue and eye donation visit Our homepage at lopa.org that's l o p a and thank you to Miranda and Brad for their gifts of life Our question and answer segment on this the 50th episode of the gifted life. I'm loving it I'm still smiling about that the difference between registering as an organ eye and tissue donor and Registering as a marrow donor the differences between the two.
Yeah, of course you guys here in the community I hear it out in the hospital sometimes there is a significant difference as far as age or bone marrow donation You have to get in by 44 and then ultimately you're taken out at 61 in Organization eye donation at ages significantly wider You know our oldest donor that we've had organ donor in the state was 82 and in the country was 92 So it's a lot different criteria there and then you have to be much healthier to be a bone marrow donor You can't for example have diabetes and still donate bone marrow, but you can with organization I don't know there's lots of information on our website lopa.org We have a link to the marrow donation site So check that out today if you have any questions or if you have a specific question you'd like to have answered Please give us a call at 504-648-3477 Episode 50 of the gifted life coming to a close episode 50 50 and it might have been the biggest and best episode ever Yeah, we brought in some star power. We're making these connections and it's all about making life happen saving lives That's what we're doing and as we said the beginning of this podcast you listening our partners as well We can't thank you enough and we also want to thank Mary how the director of community engagement for be the match Org and their international flair that they've got of course international company we're international ourselves We're worldwide what big and Ghana? Song so people are listening to the gifted life not only across the United States of America the good old us of a but also And Ghana Vietnam France Sweden. Yes.
We think about that Sal I mean over five continents. It's amazing. It is amazing and that means the message is getting out and that is the amazing part, right? Mm-hmm.
We're helping to save lives we're educating we're debunking those myths and that's what it's all about And we also have to thank Robin Roberts and Sally and Roberts who joined us today. What a powerful duo They are I love listening to them and it was just like we were watching them talk on the phone, right? Yeah enthusiasm. I know You can tell that they are close to each other they love each other and this only brought them closer together the donation their bond came through the microphone It was amazing.
Yeah, so we love listening to that listen We're also excited to announce there is a national registry for organ eye and tissue donation So if you're listening to us from across the country you can go to register me org So if you heard something today that prompts you to take action We hope that you did register me org check that out and as always we do want to thank you for listening Thanks for celebrating episode 50 with us today And we hope that you go out and do something today that you don't normally do to help make life happen Have a good one This is a production of the Louisiana organ procurement agency or Loca Gifted life is hosted by Lori Steele, Joey Boudreau and Sally Gentry Our producers are Kirsten Hines and Shalom Caraway. We are recorded engineered and mixed in our metery Louisiana studio by Troy Perez