The University of South Alabama Regional Transplant Center hosted their annual “Hope, Remembrance and Celebration” ceremony at the Mobile Botanical Gardens in Langan Park, honoring organ donors and their families in Mobile, Baldwin and surrounding counties.

A candle-lighting ceremony to honor and remember deceased donors and their families who made the decision to donate organs highlighted the ceremony, which takes place in April during Donate Life month.  Each recipient lit a candle in memory of his or her donor.

The event serves to increase awareness of the need for organ donation. For instance, nearly 2,000 people are on a waiting list for kidneys in Alabama, but only 300 or so are transplanted each year.  Patients needing a kidney transplant can wait years before a matching kidney becomes available.

Dr. Velma Scantlebury, Director of Transplantation Services at the University of South Alabama, said people who want to become organ donors need to discuss their wishes with their family. “It is not enough to sign an organ donor card.  Your family must know your wishes, as they will be the ones to make the decision,” Scantlebury said.

The USA Regional Transplant Center, located at USA Medical Center, provides transplant evaluations, kidney transplants and follow-up care for patients in south Alabama, coastal Mississippi and northwest Florida.  For more information on kidney transplants or organ donation, call (251) 471-7107 or toll free (877) 421-5704.