Series of Talks Explore “Ins and Outs” of Human Organ Donation

In commemoration of National Donate Life Month, St. John Fisher University will host, “The Ins and Outs of Human Organ Donation,” a series of talks designed to raise awareness of organ donation, and the systems around the country to support organ donation and transplantation.

The event, which will feature experts on organ donation, public health, and experts from the Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network (FLDRN), will take place from 1:40 p.m. until 3 p.m., on Tuesday, April 18, in the Elaine Wilson Formal Lounge. It is jointly sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences and Wegmans School of Nursing.

Beginning at 1:40 p.m., Fisher faculty members will present a series of five-minute talks on various aspects of organ donation. Dr. Clair Smith, associate professor and chair, Department of Economics, will tackle the question, “Is the current system of donation and transplant sufficient to meet community needs?” Next, Dr. Timothy Madigan, professor and chair, Department of Philosophy and Classical Studies, will discuss the necessity of human organ donation. Dr. Terence Gipson, assistant professor of public health, will reflect on how the current organ donation model reflects health inequities across the United States health care system. A faculty panel, led by Dr. Char Smith, professor in the School of Nursing, will discuss how to hold effective organ and tissue donation conversations.

Following the faculty panel, public health students will host a debate from 2 until 2:25 p.m., which includes a question and answer session. Erin Dobbins, a faculty member in the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education, and Dave Dobbins, head coach of the men’s lacrosse team, will speak briefly as well, reflecting on their experiences as a donor family. The Dobbins have been actively involved with organ donation since losing their daughter, Colleen, at just five months old. The family made the choice to donate their daughter’s organs – a decision that forever changed the lives of several families whom the Dobbins had never met. Through Colleen’s donation, an infant in Canada was able to receive a life-saving heart transplant while another received her liver, pancreas, and small intestine – gifts that also saved her life in the process. Finally, FLDRN Director of Development Nancy Ryan, who is a Fisher alumna from the Class of 1990, will talk about the current organ and tissue donation process in the United States. She will be joined by Elizabeth Moreland, a hospital and community development associate affiliated with the FLDRN.

Information on organ donation will also be available in the Dennis ’72 and Denise Tepas Commons; Fisher lacrosse players and volunteers from FLDRN will staff an information booth from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

This article was written by Tyler Cole ’23, a cybersecurity major and PR Writing Intern in the Office of Marketing and Communications.