The Decatur County Board of Commissioners cheered the work of several local organizations at their regular board meeting Tuesday, April 10.
First, the county presented a proclamation declaring April as National Donate Life Month. June Faircloth, a LifeLink of Georgia Transplant Advocacy Group (TAG) member, told the board about the importance of promoting organ donation.
Faircloth’s son, Dylan Reid Faircloth, lost his life in a car crash in June 2010. He was an organ donor, and his heart helped save the life of a 71-year-old retired football coach, his lung went to a Florida accountant, his liver went to a Georgia mechanic, and his kidneys helped two young mothers.
June Faircloth noted that there are 3,488 people in Georgia who are on a waiting list to receive an organ donation.
“When I lost my precious son, I became acutely aware of the widespread lack of knowledge and nationally-media-fueled misconceptions about organ donation,” she said, at the April 10 meeting. “Dylan was a self-designated donor, and this was to be his choice of his final Christian act for mankind. In honoring his memory, I began my quest to raise awareness and educate others.”
Faircloth said Decatur County currently has 10,579 registered organ donors, and 1,741 of those have been added since her son’s death.
“I thank God for the strength, LifeLink of Georgia, and the citizens of this awesome county that Dylan called home,” she said. “I appreciate bodies such as the Decatur County Commissioners for the support in spreading the word that together we have the power to give hope; we can give life.”
For more information, or to sign up for the Georgia Donor Registry, visit online at www.donatelifegeorgia.org.
Commissioners also publicly congratulated the local unit of the Georgia Forestry Commission, for being named the “unit of the year” in Georgia for 2011.
“We certainly appreciate you and your team’s efforts there,” Board Chairman Dr. C.T. Stafford told Chief Ranger Rodney Heard. “You brought great credit to your unit, as well as all of Decatur County. We’ll continue to support you and your good work.”