Alabama, Louisana and Mississippi OPO's

Hey everyone,

While I'm lucky enough not to have close friends or family left behind in the path of the hurricane, I do have "coworkers" there by virtue of the organ donation community. I thought I would let you know that everyone in the Alabama, Lousiana and Mississippi OPOs (Organ Procurement Organization) -- Alabama Organ Center (AOC), Louisana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) and Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) -- escaped unharmed, and they are continuing their operations out of alternate locations, and working on getting their technology back in light of the power outages. Not surprisingly, the hospitals they work so closely with are overwhelmed, but everyone is making a valiant effort to lend a hand -- each OPO to its hospitals and the hospitals to continue to refer potential organ donors where possible -- and of course all 3 OPOs have had numerous offers from the OPO community to back them up with man power, resources, etc.

All of it in the hopes of continuing to donate life (and/or quality thereof) in a death-heavy time. I truly love my job. We combat death and aid the severely ill every day, and in times like these, are particularly well equipped and quick to help.

I encourage all of you who feel helpless in the face of such wide-scale death to put some thought into donating organs and tissue, and if you decide that is what you want to do, make sure it's documented and discussed with your closest kin.

Otherwise, I wish love, light and courage to everyone facing the (personal, professional, and psychological) reconstruction of the coastal south.

Take care and lots of love,

Elise


p.s. in case you noticed, I deleted the "where I've been" post because it screwed up my side bar. Interestingly enough, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana were all on my "I don't think I've been" list. A lost chance for me...but I will be happy to put some tourism money into the reconstruction efforts by visiting soon.