BRC IL Executive Staff

Donald A. Greene, II Executive Director / Owner don.greene@brcil.org Donate Life Illinois Vice Chair Donald A. Greene Education & Lab Director / Owner dag@brcil.org James Bryant, MD Medical Director Kurt Klitzke, Ph.D. Technical Director kurt.klitzke@me.com Melissa J. Williams Director of Donor Services melissa.williams@brcil.org Mollie Stathopoulos Administrative Assistant mollie@brcil.org

Calendar of Events

November

November 9—11

National Donor Sabbath Weekend

DLI Donor Sabbath Event

November 11 @ 11:30am

January, 2013

January 1 Rose Parade

(Pasadena, CA)

Donate Life Float

Everyone is invited to attend the 11am service at Our Lady of Hope

prior to attending the Donor Sabbath Event

Biological Resource Center of Illinois

- Quarterly Newsletter -

Volume 4 - Issue 4

The Leading Family Owned & Operated

Non-Transplant Tissue Bank

Memberships

Over 1100

Subscribers

Biological Resource Center Supports Memorial Hospital Transplant Services 5K Run/Walk

Biological Resource Center of Illinois was proud to support as a sponsor the 2012 Transplant 5K Run/Walk.

This year the run/walk raised $9,000 for the Transplant Patient Assistance Fund. 501 people participated in the

event, including transplant recipients, living donors and families of deceased donors. This was the largest num-

ber of participants since the run/walk began.

This event is a wonderful opportunity for patients and donor families to come together and share their stories.

Speaking with others who have experienced the gift of a transplant is very healing for many donor families.

Memorial Transplant Services holds an annual 5K Run/

Walk to raise funds to benefit our Transplant Patient As-

sistance Fund. The Transplant Patient Assistance Fund

assists patients with:

Transportation expenses involved with doctor visits

Lodging needs for patients and their family members

during pre-transplant workup, the period immediately

following transplant surgery and during periods of treat-

ment for rejection

Prescription Medication Costs and/or Co-Pays

Funding for emergency disaster relief

Page 2

Updated Information for Power of Attorney’s Re-

lated to Disposition of a Deceased

We have been alerted by the Office of the Cook County Medical Examiner regarding requests for cremation permits. Their office requires that if a cremation permit is being requested (for cremation or donation to science as the form of disposition of the deceased) and the person giving authorization for the cremation or donation is a “power of attorney”, then a copy of the POA form be submitted with the request for the cremation permit by the funeral home or Biological Resource Center of Illinois. Additionally, that form must state that the POA named is authorized to make disposition of the “principle”. If the document is checked that the end date of the power of attorney is at DEATH, that person, the “agent”, may not make any disposition of the deceased including for cremation or donation. Since there are a number of different documents for this purpose, it is best to speak with someone who can help guide you through the completion of the form if you intend for your POA agent, to arrange any final arrangements for the disposition of your remains.

Many states have the forms available. An internet search for “power of attorney for health care” and the name of your state will help you to locate the document you need. Or if you are working with hos-pice or other health care providers make sure you ask the question about end date of the document so that you can have the appropriate person make any last arrangements for you.

From left: Sitha Hun, Secretary of State Jesse White’s Office,

Donnie Greene, Erin Firestein, and Melissa Williams, BRCIL,

Brett Kesselring, Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network

Donate Life Illinois Receives Donate Life America’s 2012 Donor

Designation Silver Medal at the 2012 State Team Meetings

Donate Life Illinois Chair Diane Hollingsworth and Donate Life Illinois Co-

Chair Don Greene were on hand in Grapevine to accept Illinois medal of

honor. States were judge in areas like donor designation rate, registration

numbers and contributing to the 20 million in 2012 DLA initiative.

Volume 4, Issue 3

From the Executive Directors Desk by Donald A. Greene, II

As we approach November and begin our 5th year servicing the residents of Illinois and surrounding states we are still trying to get it

all right. We continue to work hard and to improve our service to all communities. As the only non-transplant tissue bank serving

on the Donate Life committee we are working with state and federal legislators

to modify the Illinois UAGA and to continue spreading the message about the

need for organ, tissue, blood and marrow donors.

While we learn from our mistakes we try to ensure those coming to us that we

will do our best to make their wishes of being a donor come true. Beginning

back in July 2012 we began installing our “Guaranteed Acceptance Program.”

Over the past few years we have received calls from local hospice groups, nurs-

ing homes, hospitals and families who had been previously registered with an-

other program, similar to ours, from another state. Due to the decrease in needs

of these companies and the increasing cost of shipping human remains out of

state the donation was terminated without prior notice. Families that thought

plans were in place were forced to scramble and make other plans when they

should have been spending time with their family. In each of these cases that

were then referred to our program, the donor was cleared and accepted.

Seeing this, we vowed that no family coming to our program would be subjected

to such poor service. All donors that are cleared and accepted at the time of

them pre-registering will be accepted to our program at the time of death regard-

less of any change in their medical or social history. Please, contact our staff

for further information. Have a safe and happy holiday season!!

Page 3

Our Program & Service Information Our Tissue Procurement Program:

• Strictest quality control procedures to maintain that we operate with the highest industry standards and that all tissue is recov-ered and procured the same way each and every time by our tissue procurement staff

• Operates in accordance with the UAGA, NOTA and all local, state and federal laws

• We have the most comprehensive Medical/Social history is obtained for each donor and is provided to the requestor

• Our Medical Director is a Board Certified Licensed Pathologist who oversees our screening processes to help us secure the saf-est tissue possible.

Tissue Assistance Service Coordinators (TASC™)

Our highly trained Tissue Assistance Service Coordinators (TASC) will accompany shipped tissue to a specific location, receive the tissue, prepare and setup the tissue for your research or educa-tion course as well as assist your company throughout your pro-ject.

Visit www.brcmed.org (site currently under construction) or call us at 847-698-5800 for more details.

Donation Resources

www.aopo.org

www.unos.gov

www.organdonor.gov

www.donatelifeamerica.org

Grief Resources

www.griefnet.org

www.centering.org

www.webhealing.com

http://helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm

Our Willed Body Donation Program

We are available 24/7 to speak with donor family members or medical, chaplain or social work representatives

Our licensed funeral staff provide services at time of death

Pre-registration is not required but encouraged

Qualifications for our program:

> 18 years of age (no upper age limit)

No infectious diseases (Hep B/C, HIV, MRSA, Sepsis, etc.)

Within our height/weight criteria

No embalming, no decomposition

No orthopedic abnormalities (trauma, fetal position)

No Bedsores > stage 2

Sign consent form, provide death certificate information

and short medical/social history questionnaire

Program Services:

No cost to the family accept for certified copies

Return of cremated remains within 30 days of death

in an urn

Option to bury cremated remains in our

Memorial Garden at Elm Lawn Cemetery

Option to receive letter about uses of donated tissue

Executive Director and DLI Co-Chair Don Greene with Gift of Hope

Director of Communications and DLI AATB Liaison David Bosch and

Illinois Eye Bank Executive Director and DLI Chair Diane Hollingsworth

at the 2012 Donate Life America State Team Meeting in Grapevine,

Texas.

Biological Resource Center of Illinois

9501 W. Devon, Suite 505

Rosemont, IL 60018

877-698-5855

www.brcil.org

2013 Donate Life Rose Parade Float The ups and downs of life teach us many lessons, with those experienced through organ and tissue donation and transplantation be-ing among the most profound. Donor families pass through grief on the way to peace and remembrance; living donors step forward to give love and life to others; and transplant recipients courageously move forward from harrowing illness to health and gratitude. Though our paths vary from the places we start, we are all connected on our Journeys of the Heart.

Inspired by the 2013 Rose Parade® theme "Oh, the Places You'll Go!™," the tenth Donate Life Rose Parade float entry will transport 30 riders representing deceased organ, eye and tissue donors, living donors, and transplant recipients through a magical, heart-filled world encompassing the highs and lows that life has to offer. A pathway of looping hearts is lined with 72 memorial floragraph por-traits of deceased donors who are remembered every step of the way.

The float's collection of joyful hearts representing the new life made possible by trans-plantation is grounded by a reverent dedication garden filled with roses bearing personal messages honoring those who make the gift of life possible. The journey peaks with inter-twined red and purple hearts representing the love and courage that define humanity at its best.

Don’t forget to watch Tuesday, January 1st, 2013. For more information visit

www.donatelifefloat.org