Organ Donation Awareness Day in Pioneer, Ohio

Saturday, July 13, 2019

It was a warm, sunny, blue sky day in Northwest Ohio where many gathered to honor the life of Kaleb McLaughlin for the 6th year and to increase awareness of organ and tissue donation.

Kaleb lost his life in an accident and his mother, Kim Oxender, and her family make sure his memory lives on in Pioneer, Ohio.

This is a community where everyone knows everyone else. The surrounding towns gather for food, fun, a 5K run, to donate blood, release butterflies, watch fireworks, and to join in the motorcycle memorial ride. Hundreds of motorcycles were there for this beautiful event.

Kidney Donor Conversations discovered our first kidney donor, Pattie Fowler, last year here. And this year, Pattie and her recipient, Doug Stiltner, were here to celebrate.  Doug is now off hemodialysis and feeling the best he has in years!  Pattie is running 5Ks and beyond every month and can’t be stopped.

Why should you care about what is happening in this small town? 

Because across the country we have a major organ crisis and people are dying.

• We need more organ donors.
• We need more kidney donors.
• We need more people like Kim and the community at Pioneer to send this important message. 
• We need to save more lives.

Consider registering to be an organ donor when you die AND consider donating a kidney while you are alive.

The answer to the organ shortage is within you!

Glenna Frey, APRN-CNS, is a nephrology nurse who donated her left kidney in April 2017 (nondirected). She and daughter Amanda Frey co-founded Kidney Donor Conversations in 2018 to increase awareness of Living Kidney Donation.