UNC Transplant Center to Receive Medal of Honor

UNC Comprehensive Transplant Center to receive Medal of Honor for Organ Donation from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

WHO:  Speakers include Gary Park, president of UNC Hospitals, who will be accepting the Medal of Honor; Rep. Dale Folwell; Dr. Ronald Falk; Dr. Stanley Mandel; and Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Ray, the parents of Jason Ray, former UNC Ramses mascot who became an organ donor after he was killed in a car accident two years ago.

WHAT:  Acceptance of the Medal of Honor for Organ Donation from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, which will take place at the UNC Comprehensive Transplant Center’s 40 Years of Organ Transplant Celebration; Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Ray will also speak about the Jason Kendall Ray Foundation

WHEN: Ceremony will take place from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 20; vendors will be present from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE:  N.C. Children’s Hospital Lobby, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27514

BACKGROUND INFO:  The Medal of Honor for Organ Donation is awarded to hospitals nationally for achieving and sustaining a donation rate of 75 percent or more of eligible donors.  This is the first year UNC Hospitals has received the Medal of Honor, with a 77 percent organ conversion rate.

INTERVIEWS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT EVENT, INCLUDING: 

• Scott Johnson: Wilmington-area resident who completed an Ironman triathlon after receiving a double-lung transplant at UNC Hospitals.
• James Watson: had a liver transplant in 2006 and was instrumental in putting together the first golf tournament to benefit the Jason Ray Fund.
• Tiffany Christensen: The longest-living, second-time lung transplant recipient.  She has written a book titled Sick Girl Speaks and travels around the country speaking about patient care.
• Matthew Burdick: A 2008 altruistic donor who has raised thousands of dollars for charities through running in marathons.
• Martha “Missy” Simpson: An altruistic donor who is a local psychiatrist who works with chronic pain and oncology patients and volunteers with Project Compassion.