There are countless Scotland County residents in need of organ transplants. Laurel Hill's Harold Seate is one.
Seate, 59, needs a lifesaving transplant and is on the waiting list to receive a new liver.
In 2005, Seate was diagnosed with liver disease. In December 2009, he was rushed to the hospital, where he was in a coma in ICU for weeks. Doctors say a liver transplant is essential to the Scotland County's man survival.
But transplants are not cheap. A liver transplant costs approximately $500,000.
Seate became ill the same day of his mother-in-law’s funeral. For months, his wife, Becky, had not been working so she could care for her ill mother. After the funeral, the Seates became the legal guardians of Becky’s 14-year-old adopted brother.
Even with health coverage, Seate faces significant medical expenses related to his transplant. For the rest of his life, he will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. The cost of post-transplant medications can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per month, and they are as critical to his survival as the transplant itself.
The Seate's and those that love them are trying their best to raise the money. Volunteers are planning a Gospel sing Saturday at 7 p.m. at Springfield Church of God, 10101 Gibson Road in Laurel Hill.
Admission is free, but donations are strongly encouraged. Hot dogs, chips and beverages will be available for purchase. The event will feature performances from the Pierce Family.
Seate is also looking to the National Foundation for Transplants for help. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps patients raise funds to pay for transplant-related expenses. NFT assists more than 1,000 transplant candidates and recipients nationwide.
We urge you to attend Saturday's benefit to help. But you may also make a tax-deductible gift in honor of Seate, please send a contribution to the NFT North Carolina Liver Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Be sure to write “in honor of Harold Seate” on the memo line. Secure donations also can be made online at www.transplants.org. Donors should click on “Patients We Help” to locate Seate. For more information, call 800-489-3863 or visit www.transplants.org.
You may also help others in need by registering with the state's donor registry. There are two ways to sign-up to be an organ, eye and/or tissue donor in North Carolina - at the DMV and at DonateLifeNC.org. This site allows you to enter the registry online.
You can also tell someone how great the need is and the fact that it is growing everyday.
Each day, about 77 people in the U.S. get the organ transplant that gives them a second chance, but 17 to 19 others die because they did not receive an organ transplant. More than half the people on the waiting list for a donated organ are racial or ethnic minorities. Chances of getting a transplant increase if donor and recipient share the same racial/ethnic background.
Approximately 3,000 people are waiting for transplants in North Carolina.
You can save eight lives through organ donation and enhance more than 50 lives through tissue donation.
Over 50% of the people on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs every year.
There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage – give donated organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition. LifeSharers has over 13,600 members at this writing,including 404 members in North Carolina.
Please contact me - Dave Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers - if your readers would like to learn more about our innovative approach to increasing the number of organ donors. I can arrange interviews with some of our local members if you're interested. My email address is daveundis@lifesharers.org. My phone number is 615-351-8622.