February
14th was a very special day for the heart. Not because of the candy,
chocolate and flowers.
Because 132 heart transplant patients gathered at Art Moran Buick GMC in
Southfield to set Guinness World Record for largest gathering of
heart transplant recipients. Just 50 were needed to break the record.
Officials said this was the first attempt at such a record.
This accomplishment was also a tribute
to American Heart Month, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year after
being signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Participants included Transplant
centers at University of Michigan Health System, Henry Ford Health System,
Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Beaumont Health System, Spectrum Health
System, Cleveland Clinic and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Our own Dr. William Devlin from Michigan Heart
Group in Troy played an important role as an official counter of the
transplant patients. There were also several Michigan Heart Group patients there supporting the event. Some of them transplant patients themselves.
Included in the count was John Payne,
66 of Detroit, the longest living heart transplant recipient in Michigan, who
received his heart 27 years ago at Henry Ford Hospital; a 30 year recipient
from Stanford; and a 3 month, 7 day infant. The gift of transplant has
given 1318 years of additional life to the 132 transplant patients counted.
Currently,
there are 3,000 people in Michigan waiting for an organ transplant. One organ donor can save the lives of eight
people, and with the eyes and tissue donations, one person can improve the
lives of up to 50 people!!!
Tom
Moran, president of Art Moran Buick GMC, has been promoting
organ donation at his dealership for more than a year, and is
offering a free car was to anyone who signs up for the donor registry at the
dealership.
More than 3 million people
have been added to Michigan's Organ Donor Registry since its
inception. 45% of adults in Michigan are registered today which is
up from 27% in 2011. People can join the Donor Registry Online or call (800) 482-4881.
POSTED BY: Stacie Batur
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