When Cyndi and Frank Grobmeier lost their 18-year-old daughter, Maddie, to an asthma attack, they honored her wish to be an organ donor. Gift of Hope, the organ procurement organization in Chicago that met with the Grobmeier family in the hospital when Maddie died, is still helping them cope with their loss. As Mrs. Grobmeier reminds us in her guest column in the Daily Southtown, donors and their families make every transplant possible.
In her own words:
“We never thought we would need the organ transplant system. No one does, until they do. Believe me, if that day comes for you or a loved one, you will want a procurement organization nurse who has made it his or her life’s work to help grieving families find hope in tragedy. You will want a procurement organization that knows every turn of this complex and interconnected system. A single transplant can involve coordinating as many as 200 invaluable participants.
As a donor family, we support thoughtfully considered, comprehensive reform to make this system even better. This Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule is not thoughtful nor comprehensive. Not once in its 168 pages are the words ‘donor family’ mentioned. This is not just an insult to the gifts we have given; it reflects the lack of understanding of what this system requires and what, at its heart, it is about. It does not exist without us and our lost loved ones.”
Read Grobmeier’s Oct. 9 column.
Learn about UNOS’ proposed reforms and how they will increase organ donation and transplantation.
