PLYMOUTH, MA — Laura Benting clutched a photo of her son, Matthew, playing hockey just a week before he passed away. “As a family, we know that Matthew has continued to do what he did best,” Benting said as she stood beneath the Donate Life flag outside of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth (BID-Plymouth). “He loved people and giving back to the world and after his passing, he was able to continue to do that by saving lives through organ donation.”
BID-Plymouth recently held a flag-raising ceremony to recognize National Donate Life Month. The ceremony celebrates all those who gave the gift of life to others by choosing to be an organ donor.
National Donate Life Month is observed every April as a way to encourage more people to become organ, eye and tissue donors and to recognize those who have donated organs. BID-Plymouth works in collaboration with the New England Donor Services, the area’s local designated Organ Procurement Organization, to provide a second chance at life for individuals in need of an organ for transplant.
Laura continued to read a letter she received from one of Matthew’s bone and tissue recipients. “It was challenging, you’re in so much emotional distress finding out you’ve lost your child,” said Benting about the decision.
The need for organ donors across the country remains significant. According to Donate Life America, there are currently more than 100,000 men, women, and children on the national transplant waiting list. Twenty-two people die each day waiting for a transplant.
“Over the last ten years here at the hospital, five organ donations have been orchestrated due to the commitment of staff and also the generosity of families. These donors have saved 18 lives with the gift of transplantation” said Donna Doherty, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. “Additionally, 269 tissue donors have occurred between the walls of this great institution enhancing a countless number of lives.”
This flag-raising represents so many lives and stories here at BID-Plymouth, young and old, some stories touched with sadness, and some full of joy. True legacies of life and love that we will honor not only today but in the years to come. The Donate Life flag will fly outside of BID-Plymouth all month long as well as each month an organ donation takes place.
To become an organ donor, register at registerme.org and to learn more about organ, eye, tissue and living donation, visit DonateLife.net.
About BID-Plymouth
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth is a not-for-profit organization serving 12 towns in Plymouth and Barnstable Counties. BID-Plymouth is part of the Beth Israel Lahey Health. Established in 1901 as Jordan Hospital, BID-Plymouth is a full-service, 164-bed acute care community hospital accredited by The Joint Commission, the College of American Pathologists, the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and the American College of Radiology.
