On this year’s busy Memorial Day holiday weekend, Clinical Operations Administrator Ed Smith went above and beyond to honor a young man’s decision to save and heal lives through organ and tissue donation.
Due to the large crowds in the Galveston area at the time, the Galveston operating room’s back-up team already had been called in and, due to several factors, calling in the third team didn’t seem possible.
Ed was aware that the patient’s mother was becoming frustrated with the wait to cpmplete tehe organ and tissue donation process and had been discussing withdrawing her approval. Ed stepped in and spoke with UTMB leadership regarding scheduling conflicts and persuaded them to call in the third team. Thanks to Ed’s determinaton, a hero’s decision to save and impact lives was accomplished.
The decision to withdraw would have impacted the number of lives saved. As it was, the patient saved four lives and will impact many others through tissue and research donation.
This young man’s family is grateful that their loved one was able to save lives. Your commitment to the patient, his family and those waiting for a life-saving organ transplant has not gone unnoticed, Ed. Thank you for being a Southwest Transplant Alliance Superhero!
—Karla Martinez,
program manager, marketing & communications
Southwest Transplant Alliance