Boy Scouts

Timothy Stanfill shows off his Organ Donor Awareness Patch.

Dear Scout Leader,
There are more than 98,000 Americans currently on the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant. Maybe you know one, or perhaps one of your scouts has a family member or friend with this critical need. In fact, 20 percent of students surveyed by Lifeline of Ohio indicated that they know of someone whose life has been personally touched by organ and tissue donation. Regrettably, 18 people die each day because of the shortage of organs donated for transplantation.

Lifeline of Ohio and the Boy Scouts of America have teamed up to help ensure that all people can make an informed decision about donation. Lifeline is providing the training materials and buying the patches for the scouts, and you, as a scout leader, are asked to consider leading your troop in earning the "Donation Awareness" patches.

Here you will find Tips for Troop Discussions and Questions for Group Discussions to help educate you about organ and tissue donation.

Also available here is a Request Form (*in pdf format) for the materials needed for your scouts, the Requirements by Boy Scouts of America for earning a "Donor Awareness" badge coupled with the process of requesting the patches from Lifeline of Ohio. If at any time you have questions, please feel free to contact us and we will help you through each stage of the process.

Sincerely,
Lifeline of Ohio Community Education Staff

*If you do not have the pdf reader click here

Tips for Scout Troop Discussion on Organ and Tissue Donation

Answer questions honestly and to the best of your ability. If you do not know an answer, simply explain that you are not sure and contact Lifeline of Ohio for the correct information.

We encourage you to utilize the outline provided to guide your discussion on organ and tissue donation with your scouts. Depending upon your time constraints you may need to adapt it to best suit your needs.

After the initial information session, follow up with a discussion at the next troop meeting. Examples of activities/questions that can help to evaluate your scouts' understanding include:

• Review the basic donation information.
• Did the scouts fulfill their requirements for the patch?
• When talking about donation with their family and other families, how did it go?
• What were the family's opinions about donation?
• What questions arose?
• Did any of the adults who were talked to have misconceptions that the scout learned were not true?
• Do the scouts have any other questions about organ and tissue donation?

Outline/Questions to Help Lead A Group Discussion on Organ & Tissue Donation

Introduce topic of organ and tissue donation
Use your personal connection or what has interested you in discussing organ or tissue donation with the group if it is applicable. Ask scouts if they have heard of organ and tissue donation. Also ask them what organ and tissue donation means in an attempt to get them to verbalize what they believe or know.

What organs and tissues can be donated?
In general, it is only after a person has died that organs and tissues can be donated. There are living donors, particularly with kidney transplants in which a living person can donate a kidney to someone else. (Most people have two kidneys and only need one to live so they can donate one to someone else and both people can live normal lives.) There is research and other studies being done to determine other ways for living people to be donors because there is such a drastic shortage and so many people are dying while waiting.

Who benefits from organ and tissue donation?

• Recipients: Those who receive a transplant and are given a second chance at life.
• Recipient families: They continue to have their loved one in their life.
• Donor families: Families that say yes to organ or tissue donation are helped because it is something positive that can come from such a tragic situation.

What are some things they have heard about organ and tissue donation?
These do not have to be things they actually believe, just things that they have heard people say about donation. Try to use this to lead into a discussion of common misconceptions.

Do you know of anyone who has been impacted by donation?
(These can be people they know personally or famous people they have heard about- including people who have had a transplant, people waiting for a transplant, people who are living donors, people who were donors when they died, etc.)

A few examples of famous people they may have heard of include:

• Mickey Mantle: Liver Recipient
• Sean Elliott: Kidney Recipient
• Walter Payton: Had needed a liver transplant, but did not receive a transplant in time and eventually died
• Barry White: Died waiting for a kidney transplant
• Senator Mike DeWine: Donor Family, daughter was a tissue donor
• Alonzo Mourning: Kidney Recipient
• Carson Palmer: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback who received a tissue donation to repair torn knee ligaments

What should you do if you want to be an organ and tissue donor?

• Register your wishes on your driver's license or state identification card.
• Talk to your family.

Do you have any questions about organ and tissue donation?
Use this as an opportunity to clear up any other questions individuals might have. If you are unsure, please contact Lifeline of Ohio for more information.