USA: Donors and Recipients Rally in Vermont to Spotlight Dire Need for Life-Saving Transplants
USA: On Friday recipients, donor families and state officials gathered with New England Donor Services in Burlington to underscore the urgent demand for organ and tissue transplantation and to urge more people to register. Organ donation advocates presented stark figures: more than 5,000 people in New England and over 115,000 nationally need transplants, with more than 100,000 individuals currently on waiting lists. The event blended statistics with personal testimony to convey the gap between need and available organs.
Organ procurement and matching work led by New England Donor Services was presented as the bridge between patients and donors, with organizers emphasizing education and registration as central tools. State officials highlighted a rise in Vermonters signing up to become donors and called on communities to sustain that momentum. The organization’s outreach was framed as both practical — connecting matches — and symbolic, offering hope to those awaiting a life-saving call.
The human stakes were put on vivid display through the stories of recipients and donor families. Laura Grell, who received a double lung transplant in 2017 after living with a genetic lung disease, described how the surgery transformed daily life and restored activities like hiking, kayaking and travel, while allowing her to continue working as a licensed mental health therapist and to marry. Jeff Crawford recounted his family’s experience after his daughter’s death, when her organ donations became a meaningful final contribution and opened opportunities for others.
Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney Stannard presented a proclamation honoring donors and their families as a lasting legacy of life and thanked the community for promoting donation. Event leaders encouraged anyone considering donation to register through their local DMV or the national online registry, framing registration as a direct, concrete step to increase transplant availability and save lives.
