Beebe raises awareness for organ donation

Beebe Healthcare has raised a flag to raise awareness for organ donation.

Beebe Healthcare professionals gathered for a ceremony outside the east entrance of the Margaret H. Rollins Campus in Lewes April 11, which was Donate Life Blue & Green Day.

Tracy Woodson, a two-time kidney recipient, said his journey to a transplant started in 2003 when he lost feeling in his right leg.

“I drove myself to Christiana Hospital. One of the nurses knew my sister, who worked there. She said, ‘Tracy, what are you doing here?’ With that, I collapsed,” he said.

Woodson said he later found out his creatinine level was 25 times normal. Creatinine is a waste product in the blood.

He said he received his first kidney from his sister and a second from a donor in California.

Dr. Paul Sierzenski, Beebe’s chief physician executive, said, in the last five years, Beebe has cared for 27 families who have donated organs, directly impacting 56 lifesaving organ transplants.

He said, in 2024, six patients were eligible for donation and all went on to donate organs.

“We think about the advocacy, both within our walls, in our organization and in our community. If it isn’t for the generosity of families to help give these gifts, we would not be able to have that success,” Sierzenski said.

The Gift of Life donor program is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025.

Victoria Burns from Gift of Life said 5,000 people in the Delmarva region are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, including 371 in Delaware alone.

She said April, which is national Donate Life Month, is a great time to recognize Beebe’s team of dedicated professionals who serve as their hope and advocates.

“You have built a really strong culture for donation at Beebe. It is because of your executive leadership, every physician, every nurse, all of you make it possible,” Burns said. 

For more information on organ donation, go to donatelife.net.