News Releases

The Center Promotes Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation, Staff Member Shares Personal Story

The Center for Health Affairs recognized National Donate Life Month in April by serving as a community partner for The City Club of Cleveland’s event, “Unsung Heroes: Behind the Scenes of Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation,” on Thursday, April 14. In addition, The Center’s director of strategic relations, Amy Witzigreuter, wrote a blog for the event entitled, “Organ Donors: Unsung Heroes,” sharing how she had been personally affected by organ donation.

In her piece, Witzigreuter explained why she was happy to write a blog for the event. “As an employee of The Center for Health Affairs, I’m proud to contribute to the organization’s effort to support the region’s healthcare providers and ultimately the health of the communities they serve,” she began. “My third child, Paul, was born with biliary atresia, a life-threatening condition in infants…Transplantation was his only hope for survival.”

The event, a panel discussion moderated by The City Club’s CEO Dan Moulthrop, featured local leaders who commented on the current state of organ, eye and tissue donation. Panelists included:

• Rev. Dr. David A. Cobb, Jr., Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church
• Jillian Frazier, Director of Development & Community Services, Lifebanc
• John Fung, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Cleveland Clinic Health System Center for Transplantation
• Charles S. Modlin, M.D., MBA, Director, Minority Men's Health Center and Kidney Transplant Surgeon
• Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic

The community conversation about organ, eye and tissue donation will continue in June when Cleveland hosts the Donate Life Transplant Games of America. For more information on The Center’s activities to promote organ, eye and tissue donation, contact Deanna Moore, vice president, corporate communications via email or at 216.255.3614.