<b>While the opioid epidemic has been devastating to many families in our community, it has also been SAVING lives by providing an increase in organ donation. News Center 7 Anchor Kate Bartley looks at this silver lining to the opioid crisis when she talks to Miami Valley families on both sides of organ donation.</b>
<b>Watch the SPECIAL REPORT beginning at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, on News Center 7. </b>
Here are five recent organ donation stories that you’ll really want to read:
1. Young man's overdose leads to gifts of life for 2 Ohio women
Adam Shay was the first of 19 drug overdose victims to donate organs in Northeast Ohio in 2014, according to Lifebanc, the region's nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization. That year, overdose victims made up 16 percent of total organ donors, more than double the percentage only two years earlier.
The tragic trend, fed by a statewide explosion of opiate abuse, has only grown since: Last year, 22 percent of organ donors died of overdoses in Ohio. READ THE FULL STORY
DON’T MISS IT: The opioid epidemic is devastating – but it’s also saving lives
2. Mother uncovers lasting impact of baby son's organ donation
Families often find comfort in learning how many lives were saved if they donated a loved one's organs for transplant. But donating a body for research gets less attention — there are no headline-making "saves." Yet critical medical research in labs around the country depends on scientists' ability to work with human cells and organs, so they can study both normal development and how disease does its dirty work. READ THE FULL STORY
3. Surgeon says apps may turn organ donation support into ‘concrete action’
Users of Tinder, the popular online dating app, usually swipe right on their mobile screens to gain a potential match. Come September, the same action might allow them to save lives by registering to be an organ donor.
The donor registration drive is the culmination of the partnership between Tinder and a nonprofit group called Organize, which aims to end the organ donor shortage. A similar campaign between Tinder and the National Health Service was carried out in Britain last year. Organize is also partnering with the comedy video website Funny or Die, Facebook, various universities and hospitals to launch apps and social media campaigns to boost registrations for organ donations. READ THE FULL STORY
4. A dying man’s wish to save others hits hospital ethics hurdle
At 44 years old, Dave Adox was facing the end of his two year battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He needed a ventilator to breathe and couldn’t move any part of his body, except his eyes. Once he started to struggle with his eyes — his only way to communicate — Adox decided it was time to die.
He wanted to donate his organs, to give other people a chance for a longer life. To do this, he'd need to be in a hospital when he went off the ventilator. READ THE FULL STORY
5. Mom: ‘Perfect match’ found for Ronnie Bowers’ organs
Even after Ronnie Bowers succumbed to his injuries Tuesday after being shot in the head Sunday near AlterFest, his mother hopes his organs can continue to bring life to others.
"I did receive a call this morning from someone from Life Connections that takes care of the organ donning and they found perfect recipients (for)…his heart, his kidneys, liver, lungs," said Jessica Combs, Ronnie Bowers' mother. READ THE FULL STORY
