2009 Rose Parade Float Riders Offer Insights

MTF sponsored two riders in the recent Donate Life America Rose Parade Float.

Donor mother, Kim Morsching, lost her son Kevin in 2007. His heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas saved the lives of six people. Donations of bone and soft tissue helped restore mobility and improve the health of 55 people ranging in age from 21 to 79 across the U.S.

MTF partnered with AATB to co-sponsor donor father, Eric Miller, who survived an accident that resulted in the death of his 16-month old son, Micah. Micah’s parents, Eric and Jenna, chose to donate Micah’s heart valves, which helped save the lives of two children.

A week after the float riders returned from the parade, they offered written accounts of their experiences. On behalf of all generous donor families everywhere, here are some excerpted comments from Kim and Eric.

From Kim Morsching:

Left, a heart recipient, in yellow, Kim Morsching holding her son, Kevin’s photo.

“A week after my return from riding on the Stars of Life float, I am still at a loss for words to describe my experience. If I wanted to describe the incredible beauty of the floats, or the perfume of the flowers, or the blueness of the sky and the perfect weather of parade day, I think I could find the words, but mere words don’t seem powerful enough to convey the emotion I still feel.

I remember thinking that when we lost Kevin 16 months ago that I could actually see angels. Sure they had a human form (nurses, doctors, organ donation staff), but I wasn’t fooled. You know those people who do the job of assisting you or your loved one so selflessly that their job disappears and all you see is a human being helping another human being. My ability to see them clearly has dimmed with the months, but was renewed when working with all the individuals who saw to all the details of our trip to Pasadena. From my sponsor, MTF, to the staff of Donate Life, and

even to the float company, Phoenix Decorating, I am sure I was in the presence of a lifetime’s worth of angels.

I was greatly unprepared for the emotion I felt while riding on the float. I did not realize how much of a connection I would make with people in the crowd. I was particularly touched by the women in the crown. As I passed by, holding a picture of my son, I could see tears in their eyes. Many touched their hearts or their lips and held their hands out to me. In that second we connected, woman to woman, mother to mother."

From Eric Miller:

Eric and Jenna Miller display a florograph of their son, Micah.

"So how does one adequately prepare for the Donate Life float experience? We had been told what to expect, but all descriptions paled in comparison to the actual event.

How do you prepare someone for the lasting friendships they will make when they meet other donor families? How do you prepare someone for the camaraderie formed by volunteering alongside one another to help assemble a float that will touch millions? Placing over 54,000 flowers that cover over 85% of a float all dedicated to one cause—organ and tissue donation.

How do you prepare for parade day? For seeing thousands of people lined up on both sides of a five mile parade route, thanking you for the gift of life. For people hanging from windows, clustered on rooftops, sitting in grandstands; people who, in some cases, camped out on the parade route for over 24 hours to get a good view.

You don’t. Try as you may, you can’t prepare anyone adequately for the event that is the Donate Life Float experience.

When all is said and done, I don’t even think I made it on any television station. But I don’t care one iota. The week leading to the parade, and the parade itself, touched me in ways that have changed me for the rest of my life.

When it all comes down to it, it’s about life: giving life, and receiving life. And for us, it started with a death, the death of our boy. Given the opportunity, we would love to have Micah back. But since that’s not an option, we make the best of it. We continue to dedicate our lives to bettering others’ lives. We thank God for the opportunity to serve, whether it be advocating for organ and tissue donation, helping others through grieving the loss of a loved one, or simply encouraging others to enjoy and maximize the time they’ve been given with their loved ones."

MTF Focuses on Growth with New Dermis Suite

After six months of construction, MTF’s new dermis suite is up and running at MTF headquarters in Edison, New Jersey. The new facility is 4,100 square feet, and all dermis tissue will be processed in the suite. The MTF facility in Costa Mesa, California will continue to process split thickness skin.

“The MTF Dermis Team is very enthusiastic about the new dermis suite.  The process and the team have undergone many changes since the onset of dermis processing, and this is a true milestone,” stated MTF Dermis Manager, Fred Martone.

The previous dermis processing suite was 584 square feet and had the capacity to process 150 donors a month. The processing rooms consisted of six bio-safety cabinets, one disinfection station, one hood, one freezer and one refrigerator. Processing, equipment and supplies were also contained there.

The new processing suite has 15 processing rooms, (four for incoming tissue, seven for processing, four for packaging) and one disinfection room with the future capacity for four additional disinfection stations. Up to 400 donors can be processed in a month. There’s also a prep room, a decontamination room, and an autoclave to sterilize instruments. Processing technicians will have wall monitors to see information such as scheduling information. According to Fred Martone, “The additional capacity provides us the ability to further maximize the gift to meet dermis tissue demands now and in the future.”

The development and construction of this project was definitely a group effort, several years in the making. “I would like to thank all those involved not only in the dermis expansion project but to all those who have contributed to the growth of the dermis process over the past few years,” expressed Fred.

Michael Real Named Vice President of Procurement for MTF

Michael Real has been promoted to V.P., Procurement, for the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF), managing the training, education, compliance and surgical donation aspects of the Foundation's Donor Services Division.

As Director of Procurement department activities for the past several years, Mike and his staff have provided services to MTF recovery partners and internal departments. His efforts have been responsible for the success of MTF's living skin program and continued improvement in the recovery of split thickness and full thickness skin.

"Mike has enthusiastically taken on greater responsibilities that have continually improved the quality of tissue provided by MTF," said Martha Anderson, Executive Vice President, Donor Services, MTF. "Thanks to his contributions, MTF has been able to improve our ability to provide soft tissues, both by adding the recovery of peroneus longus tendons, and by improving recovery techniques for all soft tissues."

Mike became involved with donation and transplantation as a surgical technologist in a Salt Lake City hospital and soon became a recovery technician for the local musculoskeletal recovery program there. He joined MTF full-time in 1992, coordinating a regional recovery program, and became Education Director three years later, overseeing national training and quality improvement in all aspects of donor evaluation.

A dedicated professional by nature, Mike’s commitment to all that he holds dear, such as family, friends, and his work, keep him focused.

“What I like most about working for MTF is knowing that we can help people in a very real way, both on the donation and transplantation side of things,” Mike says. “I don’t always get to see the recipients or talk to the donor families anymore, but, as a health care worker, knowing that you’ve provided services to improve the lives of more than 300,000 people a year is very rewarding. I like the fact that I am part of an ethical company thoroughly dedicated to its mission.”

A central New Jersey resident, Mike loves his spare-time activities too, like golfing, skiing, tinkering with electronics, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Humbled by Skin Donation  

When Debbi Upthegrove lost her sister to ovarian cancer, the fourth woman in her family to die from either breast or ovarian cancer, she underwent genetic testing, tested positive, and was faced with a tough choice.  She elected to have a bilateral mastectomy, and received donated skin tissue for breast reconstruction.  “First my late sister gave me the gift of life through the genetic test, and then my tissue donor gave me the gift of feeling whole again,” said Debbi. 

MTF Announces 2009 Research Grant Recipients

Since its inception in 1987, MTF has been at the forefront of supporting allograft research, with about $20 million awarded through 2009. MTF anticipates awarding close to $2.3 million in grants and awards in the 2009 calendar year.

The 2009 grant recipients approved for funding fall into three categories: peer-reviewed scientific grants, reviewed by a panel of external reviewers as well as the MTF Research Committee; career development grants, awarded to support academic career development in allograft-related science; and the J.R. Neff Award, given in honor of one of MTF’s long-time board members, James R. Neff, M.D.

Click here for a complete listing of grant recipients. For more information on how to apply for a research grant, contact Hans Burchardt, Ph.D, VP, Scientific Affairs, at Hans_Burchardt@mtf.org or 570-496-3434.

Over 400,000 Reasons to Honor the Gift of Tissue Donation

In 2008, MTF and its recovery partners received tissue from 8,720 generous donors, resulting in the distribution of 401,903 tissue grafts—377,627 musculoskeletal grafts; 12,803 skin grafts; and 11,473 grafts for research.