Altoona area pastor Paul Johnson sees the irony in the life-saving gesture of a Pittsburgh fireman whose kidney now rests inside of Johnson’s abdomen.
Twenty years ago, with Johnson near death after suffering kidney failure and in dire need of a transplant, it was the deceased fireman’s kidney that revived him and ultimately allowed him to stand in front of a group of 30 Tyrone Area High School students recently and share his story.
“When he lived, he tried to save lives,” Johnson said of the fireman. “When he died he saved mine.”
Johnson’s speech was part of a day-long series of presentations at the high school made by the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), a non-profit agency that manages the organ and tissue donor program for western Pennsylvania. The audience was composed of senior high students taking English 10, Driver’s Education and Health Tech.
The presentation came on the heels of April’s National Donate Life Month and was one of the cornerstones of a new program implemented at the high school to make young people aware of the importance of registering to be an organ and tissue donor, according to 10th grade English teacher, Leah Dobrowolsky.
“We work with students who will be getting their driver’s licenses and will be asked a question (about becoming an organ donor),” Dobrowolsky said. “Often, they don’t have the background information to make an informed decision.”
That was why in 1994 Act 102 was passed to create an organ donor fund that supports statewide efforts to increase organ and tissue donation awareness. As part of the program, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, along with the Department of Health, makes available grant money to school districts to promote organ and tissue donation education.
The grants are distributed by Lebanon-Lancaster Intermediate Unit 13, and this year Tyrone was one of only six schools in the state to be awarded the grant funds, which total $5,000 and are earmarked for implementing a long-term organ and tissue donation education program.
Dobrowolsky was one of three teachers at Tyrone to take responsibility for developing the program, along with History/Driver’s Education teacher Rob Walter and Health Tech teacher Christie Vargo.
Included in year-one of Tyrone’s program are activities ranging from English essays researching organ and tissue donation to an awareness table on OTDA set up by the Tyrone Renaissance Club.
Thursday’s presentation, with Johnson as the featured speaker, was attended by more than 150 students ranging from grades 10 through 12 over the course of five periods.
“People ages 16 to 24 are the ones that are saying yes to donation,” Johnson, who is the pastor of the 18th Street Community Church, told his audience.
Johnson said he was actually a two-time kidney transplant recipient. Two years ago, after his donated kidney failed, he received another from his 31-year-old niece, who was a living donor.
“It’s obvious why it is important for me to speak about organ and tissue donation,” said Johnson. “I think it’s even more important now that schools are taking on this program.”
Along with Johnson’s personal story, the presentation also included an educational segment led by CORE representative Cherie Cain, who encouraged students to become more informed about the organ and tissue donation process. She also tried to dispel myths that she said persist about the procedure.
“The No. 1 misconception is that doctors won’t try as hard to save you if you’re an organ donor,” Cain told the students.
Cain said Tyrone was the only school in Blair County to receive the grant this year.
“It’s kind of a new program, but as more teachers get wind of it, I think it will grow a lot more,” she said.
