SALT LAKE CITY — More than 6,000 people died in 2012 while waiting for an organ transplant, and on Tuesday people gathered to call attention to the plight of people whose lives’ depend on the generosity of others.
The National Donate Life Flag was raised at the Salt Lake City and County Building on Tuesday morning in honor of those who have saved lives through organ donation and to remember those who have died waiting for a transplant. April is Donor Awareness Month.
Eighteen people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant, according to a press release from Intermountain Donor Services.
Valeria Frandsen’s daughter died while waiting for a heart transplant—she passed away one week after her eighth birthday. Frandsen spoke about the tremendous need for donors to come forward.
“There is no deeper pain than losing a child,” she said. “We have experienced the most debilitating grief one can experience, and it is something I would not wish on anyone. But giving the gift of life so others can live is the greatest legacy one can leave.”
Click here to learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation.
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