WACO, Texas — The Texas Organ Sharing Alliance saved hundreds of people in 2021 with the help of more than 200 heroic organ donors.
"We had a record-breaking year," TOSA Senior Communications Coordinator Clarissa Thompson told 25 News. "260 individuals who gave the gift of life through organ donations providing 806 organs for transplant."
One of those life-saving donors was David Skarda, who died unexpectedly in October.
"He was just a good guy," his sister Lisa Jimenez said. "He would've given the shirt off his back to anybody and the fact that he gave more than his shirt this time to time the lives of others, he's my hero."
Lisa said he was able to help three women in Texas. His lungs were donated to a 53-year-old woman, one kidney went to a 67-year-old woman and his other to a 51-year-old.
"I'm 58 and I know I have a lot of living left to do," she said. "The fact that these women who are in my same generation will be able to move on with their lives, that's amazing to me."
Organ donors are able to save as many as eight people when they die.
More than 770,000 Texans registered as organ donors in 2021 but the need for donors also increased.
"110,000 men, women and children in Texas need a life saving transplant," Thompson said. "Everyday 20 people die never receiving that call that a life-saving organ is available and every 10 minutes a name is added to that list."
Thompson recommends people research the process, then register to be a donor online.
"There's a lot of misconceptions out there and probably the most common one is will doctors save my life if they know I'm an organ donor? Organ donation is only considered after every life saving effort has occurred," she said. "It's a time where we can turn at tragic loss into a sign of hope for someone else and help something good come out of something tragic."
To register to donate, you can visit: https://www.tosa1.org/
