“What about organ donation?”

Roseanne Hershberger, of Greenville, had just received the worst news of her life, when she spoke those words.

At a Tuesday, April 15, flag-raising ceremony held to recognize National Donate Life Month at Butler Memorial Hospital, Hershberger recalled the loss of her 17-year-old son, Christopher, and how his spirit lives on in the form of organ donation.

According to Donate Life Pennsylvania, there are more than 100,000 people on the transplant waitlist across the nation, and about 4,000 are added to the list monthly.

One donor can save up to eight lives and help up to 75 people, according to the organization.

In Butler County, 91,659 of the 161,080 licensed drivers, or 56.90%, are registered as potential organ donors, according to a 2024 state report.

In all of the state, there’s more than 4.9 million organ donors. Nearly 49% of drivers statewide are registered organ donors, which is a decrease from the previous report.

This decrease in registration mirrors declines seen in other states, and those looking into the decline are analyzing how aging populations, young people delaying getting a license and a growing distrust of health care and other institutions may factor into the decrease, the report said.

Those who do designate themselves as organ donors can save lives like Christopher, who, at 17, died following a seizure. Without his donation, Kurt Miller and Andrea Coyle may not be alive today. In total, three people received organs from Christopher.

Miller had been on the waiting list for a kidney and liver because of diabetes, and Coyle had needed a new kidney after an infection caused by strep throat.

“When Christopher passed, it was a shock to us,” Hershberger said at the Tuesday event. “It was the worst day of my life.”

Upon receiving the news, she walked out of the room, and then uttered a question about organ donation.

Now, Hershberger has seen the lives of those impacted by Christopher’s gift. Organ donation saved the lives of others.

The designation makes a difference. Why not give the gift of life, if you can’t live your own any longer?

— TL