When Dan Lietz and Vikki Tulcus met at Benedictine College in Lisle in 1987, he had no concept that greater than 20 years later, after marrying, elevating three youngsters and constructing a profitable banking profession, Tulcus’ ardour for advocating for organ donation would change the trajectory of his life.
Tulcus devoted her profession to serving to households make the choice to turn out to be organ donors, first at Present of Hope, an Illinois-based organ procurement group, and later because the Chicago regional coordinator for the Illinois secretary of state’s organ donor registry.
After Tulcus died in 2013 from a uncommon autoimmune illness that affected her coronary heart and led to kidney failure, Lietz was provided her place with the secretary of state and continued her advocacy for the organ donor registry.
“My first day on the job, they gave me Vikki’s workplace,” Lietz mentioned. “I sat down on the desk that also had a photograph of us, a calendar set on the final day she labored, even a espresso cup together with her lipstick nonetheless on it. The identical telephone that I known as her every day. Paradoxically, it’s nonetheless my workplace telephone as we speak.”
When Tulcus and Lietz reconnected in 2010, she was within the hospital and had joined the organ donor ready checklist.
“Not relationship for years and assembly somebody who was sick made me very nervous, however after I met her, I used to be blown away,” Lietz mentioned.
The couple deliberate to marry after her transplant, however Tulcus’ O optimistic blood kind, together with a number of particular blood antigens, posed a big problem. Lietz defined the chances of discovering an appropriate match have been very low, as a possible donor would wish to match each her blood kind and all 13 antigens.
Whereas Tulcus by no means obtained a kidney transplant earlier than her demise, she was in a position to donate each of her corneas, which went to recipients in Chicago and New Jersey, Lietz mentioned.
Lietz mentioned others like Tulcus face an identical battle.
Greater than 4,000 Illinois residents are on the transplant ready checklist, in response to knowledge from the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers. Nationally, greater than 100,000 persons are ready for organ donations, and an estimated 17 folks die every day whereas ready for a transplant within the U.S., in response to the newest knowledge from March.
In Illinois, 7.3 million persons are registered organ donors, which is greater than half of the state’s inhabitants, in response to the Illinois secretary of state’s workplace.
However that quantity could possibly be larger, Lietz mentioned.
Since Illinois handed the Drive for Life act in 2018 that enables 16- and 17-year-olds to affix the organ donor registry, Lietz has advocated for schooling on donor registration in colleges.
In January, as program supervisor for the secretary of state’s organ donor registry, Lietz helped launch the Lifesaving Schooling and Consciousness on Donation program, which allows highschool college students to function ambassadors for the Illinois Organ and Tissue Donor Program.
His daughter, Morgan Lietz, a senior at Shepard Excessive College in Palos Heights, has adopted in her father’s footsteps as an advocate for this system at her college and thru working donor registration tables at a number of occasions, she mentioned.
Morgan has participated in organ donor occasions together with her father since she was 6. As a part of her service necessities for Shepard’s Nationwide Honor Society, she continues to advocate for the significance of organ and tissue donation.
College students who take part in this system can obtain neighborhood service credit score. They simply must get a college member to function this system adviser and collaborate with the regional program coordinator from the secretary of state’s workplace, who will provide digital coaching supplies, reply questions and supply steerage, in response to a information launch when this system launched this fall.
Just lately, Morgan spoke on the launch of the Lifesaving Schooling and Consciousness on Donation marketing campaign at Walter Payton School Prep Excessive College in Chicago.
“I used to be tremendous nervous, as a result of talking in entrance of individuals is simply not my factor,” she mentioned. “However then I believed to myself, these youngsters really want to study these items, as a result of it may save lives. And the way cool would it not be that I obtained to tell them after which they might cross it on. In order I went on to my speech, I gained extra confidence, and at that time, I used to be simply speaking to the youngsters.”
Because the program began, Dan Lietz mentioned it has reached 80 colleges all through Illinois. Finally, Lietz mentioned he hopes this system will develop to succeed in the greater than 720 excessive colleges in Illinois.
“As of as we speak, 359,000 16- and 17-year-olds have mentioned sure on the DMV. That counts for about 22% of all people who go to the DMV and say sure to donation,” he mentioned.
In Morgan’s expertise, she discovered chatting with her friends is more practical in encouraging donor registration as a result of they’re extra prone to join with somebody their very own age.
“I really feel like they’re much less afraid to speak to me,” she mentioned. “I share related experiences with them. So I do get much more questions than I believe that (my dad) would have, as a result of they’re just a little shy within the lecture rooms, however after they see somebody that’s much like them, they’ll be extra prone to reply.”
Dan Lietz hopes that with this system, when a scholar passes their driver’s schooling take a look at and goes to to get their license, they received’t have to show to their dad and mom and ask, “What do I do?” when requested about turning into an organ donor.
“I need them to be educated sufficient to recollect, say, ‘hey, keep in mind that woman who got here in into my classroom that went to highschool with me, and she or he talked about her mother passing away, and that nobody ought to must undergo that.’ That’s what I need them to recollect,” he mentioned. “I don’t need their dad and mom making that call.”
When Tulcus died, Lietz knew his response when hospital workers requested if she was a donor.
Via his work with the organ donor registry, Lietz hopes others received’t face that call within the hospital as a result of their family members would have already made their needs recognized by checking the field.
“A member of the family goes to be requested that query in all probability on considered one of their their worst days of their lives. That’s a tough alternative proper there. I don’t know if I could make that alternative, but when that field was checked, I do know that that individual went into the DMV, was requested that query and mentioned sure.”
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
