Ceremony spotlights organ donation of Knoch alumnus
PINE TWP, Allegheny County — As an organ donor, Penn Township resident Jacob Grady was able to save lives, even after his own tragic death.
At a ceremony at Allegheny Health Network’s Wexford hospital on Wednesday, health care professionals and family members honored Jacob’s generosity and brought attention to the continuing need for organ donors in the region.
Jacob, who died in a snowmobile accident in 2020, was a 2017 graduate of Knoch High School and attended Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School during his junior and senior years.
Jacob’s heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys and corneas were donated.
“For my family, it brings a sense of peace knowing that Jacob was able to help others,” said Laurie Grady, Jacob’s mother.
Grady said the family previously had the chance to meet a recipient of Jacob’s cornea donation, a 7-year-old boy named James.
“The introduction was bittersweet, very nerve-wracking, and full of emotion, but we are grateful for their family for allowing us to meet. We have continued communication since last August,” she said. “We also have received a thank you card from a gentleman by the name of Michael. Michael was a double organ recipient, (and) received Jacob’s pancreas and right kidney.”
The event was held by AHN and the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), in conjunction with National Donate Life Month, a time of year when people come together to raise awareness for organ, tissue and cornea donations.
“Today, we want to salute all of those who have donated in the past, many men, women, and children of different ages and backgrounds,” Allan Klapper, MD, president of AHN Wexford Hospital, said during the ceremony. “Your generosity has really helped to sustain the life of so many people in our communities, and we really thank you for your contributions and your selflessness.”
Grady hopes that more young people will step forward and register as organ donors.
“This needs to not be a taboo dinner discussion. We were lucky that family experiences led us to talk about it, and we knew what our son’s wishes were,” she said. “I would like to see it be more talked about, and more open-minded.”
Chelsea Bauer, leadership acceleration program associate at AHN, said event organizers hoped to highlight the importance of organ donation.
“We want to raise awareness and to get as many people to register to be organ donors (as possible). At the end of the day, it makes a huge difference in one person’s life, and it can save up to eight lives,” Bauer said. “We are honored to have AHN and CORE spread that awareness.”
AHN performed nearly 250 organ transplants across its service area in 2021, said Lisa Graper, chief nursing officer at AHN Wexford.
“None of this would be possible without organ donation,” she said. “There is always, always opportunities among your friends and families to become registered.”
Christie Ryan, director of professional services and regulatory affairs at CORE, explained that CORE is one of 57 organ procurement organizations in the country, and covers West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.
“CORE’s lifesaving mission is about saving the lives of those who need a transplant, as well as helping donor families to heal from the senseless loss of a loved one,” she said. “At CORE, we know we cannot achieve this mission alone. To carry out this mission, we depend on the support of the entire community we have the honor to serve.”
Those interested in signing up as organ donors can do so at registerme.org, or when they visit a PennDOT's Photo License Center to get a driver's license or identification card.
