Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – St. Bernards held a ceremony Friday honoring donors of organs and tissues, as well as recipients of those donations.
The event, hosted in partnership with Mid-America Transplant, recognized donor families and the lives of recipients of donated organs. It was also in recognition of National Donate Life Month, which is annually recognized in April and raises awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donations, honors donors, and encourages people to register as donors.
Dr. Alison Gildehaus, chief medical officer of Mid-America Transplant, said that in 2025, St. Bernards had four organ donors, taking five people off the organ transplant waiting list. Additionally, 37 cornea tissue donors came from St. Bernards, helping over 2,775 people, she said.
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“Donor families’ strength and compassion shown in the most difficult moment, the most horrendous moments of their lives, teach us all about generosity and humanity at its highest level, and we honor their courage by trying every donation opportunity with dignity, with care, and with reverence,” she said.
Gildehaus continued: “We also celebrate transplant recipients. Their lives are renewed and reminds us why this mission matters. Every birthday, every graduation, every milestone after a transplant is part of that legacy and part of you all here and the work you [St. Bernards employees] do.”
Friday’s ceremony included a speech from St. Bernards Pastoral Care chaplain Helen Silvas, who is the parent of a donor recipient. She detailed the story of how her son’s life was saved by an organ donor after his cancer relapsed for a third time.
“Doctors mentioned without that transplant, he would not make it. I put all my faith in God and prayed for us to be able to [donate], but we were not compatible. But I also prayed that we were able to find someone that was willing to [donate],” Silvas said. “God allowed that person to feel and have the understanding of feeling his love.”
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