Steve's Organ Donation Story - The Circle of Life

Chicago native Steve Ferkau is 48-years-old. He has lived with cystic fibrosis his entire life. Steve's life changed 8 years ago when he received a new set of lungs from a young girl named Kari.

This is Steve's story about Kari, his lung transplant and the gift that gave him a fresh breath of life.

Steve blogs regularly about organ donation at Revive Hope:
http://revivehope.typepad.com/revive_hope/

To learn more about organ donation or to register to be an organ and tissue donor in Illinois, visit http://www.DonateLifeIllinois.org.

*Non-Illinois residents can visit http://www.DonateLife.net to learn how to register in your own state.

Music Credit: Ben & Bruno, Griffin House

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• organ
• donor
• donation
• lung
• transplant
• recipient
• chicago
• illinois
• iowa
• steve
• ferkau
• kari
• cystic
• fibrosis
• doctor
• hospital
• patient
• donate
• life

[Skabeeri]

ISN'T transplantation in the US ANONYMOUS?

[DonateLifeIllinois]

@Skabeeri You are correct. A donor’s family will be told the age, sex, state and other general characteristics of recipients. If both the donor family and the recipient agree to release information to one another, they may exchange names, correspond and even meet. This process is coordinated through the organ procurement organization.

[itlabs]

im in England, an ive just registered to be a donor, hearing storys like this just confirms to me that it is something we should all do

hope your well Steve

God bless you and Kari :)

[DonateLifeIllinois]

Thanks for the kind words! Steve is doing well.

Last month, he did the Hustle Up the Hancock, a stair climb up the second tallest skyscraper in Chicago, with Kari's friends to raise funds for lung disease research.

[angieskidney]

I am grateful for my kidney transplant! Sept 30th 2007!!

[7d7scooby]

Awesome video! I am a kidney donor to my husband on 2/18/09

[jhaassage]

This is an awesome video...my mother was lucky enough to receive a kidney donation in May of 2009...However in November of 2009 she became deathy ill...she was diagnosed with a very rare liver disease...in December of 2009 she was told she needed a liver transplant and at the top of the list..On January 11, 2010, she died, at the age of 58 yrs old, waiting for a liver....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give the gift of life!!!!!

[squamish4244]

How to save a life!

[ghagel37]

amazing! touching story. hope all is well Steve!

[diarykeeper]

Hey ! Pretty good.

Fron your description she sure was a nice Girl that had to go far too soon.

When I should die I too will allow people to transplant my Organs.

Currently all I can do to help is probably transfusing Blood ( Even though my bloodtype isn't really rare ;). )

[Orangebike666]

I like a lot of my family plan to be cremated no matter what... I hope that anything and everything that could possibly be used will reach people like this or at least as a cadaver . Thank You.

[cherryblossom0629]

my brother gave me a kidney about a month ago. im very grateful and try to take good care of the kidney

[SteveFerkau]

Hi tzzlite...

Kari had a subarachnoid hemorrhage - an intracranial bleed that caused pressure in her brain and eventually cut off blood circulation to her brain. It happened the day before her Junior prom. She was an amazing girl.

I've met a dozen of her friends and, after 10 years, they still speak so fondly of her. Several of them come out to climb with me. Thanks for asking... Love, Steve

[tzzlite]

HOW did Kari die??