Before an organ donation can save another life, there’s an in-between moment, one that begins with loss.
When a hospital patient’s life cannot be saved, a conversation must happen with their family, and that conversation often starts with Lead Family Services Specialist at Lifesharing, Vanessa Mazon.
Her role is to gently approach families to talk about organ and tissue donation during one of their toughest moments.
"I hold a lot of empathy and compassion," Mazon says. "Having gone through my own grieving process, I wanted to give back to families that have had to walk through the path of losing a loved one.”
Organ donation saves thousands of lives each year, and the numbers keep rising.
This year here in San Diego, LifeSharing has helped transplant 512 vital organs, giving new life to hundreds of patients locally, regionally, and across the country.
"When I zoom out and I'm able to see the amount of lives that are saved, it kind of puts into perspective the long nights that we work,” Mazon says.
So how does Mazon help families process a decision like this, in the middle of grief and shock? — "It really comes down to meeting them where they're at and understanding that any response is a normal one in grief," she says.
When it’s time to recover the donor’s organs in the operating room, the team pauses for a moment of silence. Then, they play the donor’s favorite music.
Families are asked to create a playlist, songs that carry memories and love. Mazon says that simple act can be healing;
“It gives them a little bit of light and allows for us to personalize it for their loved one."
And just like heroes are honored with medals, LifeSharing honors donors too, recognizing the lives they’ve saved, and the legacy they leave behind.
