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Longtime sickle cell anemia patient lives on through decision to donate organs

August is National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month.

Morgan Lentes
Anchor
Longtime sickle cell anemia patient lives on through decision to donate organs

August is National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month.

CONTINUES TO LIVE ON IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS. >> I THINK I WILL REMEMBER COURTNEY FOREVER. REPORTER: THERE ARE SOME PATIENTS, NURSE VONSHELLA GIBSON, WILL NEVER FORGET. >> SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL SHE LOST HER MOM, WE WENT WITH THAT TOGETHER. WE WATCHED HER CHILDREN GROW UP SHE WAS ALWAYS IN THE HOSPITAL. REPORTER: COURTNEY WAS BORN WITH SICKLE CELL ANEMIA, A BLOOD DISEASE THAT IS BRUTAL ON THE BODY. >> YOU ARE ALWAYS IN EXTREME PAIN. YOU CANNOT MOVE A LOT. YOU ARE MOSTLY IN BED RESTING. >> SHE WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL, COLLEGE, WANT TO HAVE A FAMILY, WANTED TO WORK A JOB. WITH A DISEASE LIKE SICKLE CELL IT IS SO HARD TO MAINTAIN A LOT OF THOSE LADEN SHIPS. -- RELATIONSHIPS. REPORTER: BUT HER AUNT SYDNI SAYS, SHE DID THOSE THINGS ANYWAY, GIVING BIRTH TO TWO HEALTHY BOYS, AND ULTIMATELY, BECOMING AN OUTSPOKEN ADVOCATE FOR PATIENTS LIKE HER. SO WHEN COURTNEY’S HEALTH TOOK A TURN EARLIER THIS YEAR, HER FAMILY HAD A CHOICE TO MAKE. >> SHE WAS A HUGE ADVOCATE OF THAT, IT WAS A NO-BRAINER TO ME. REPORTER: AFTER CONSULTING WITH DOCTORS, THEY DECIDED TO DONATE HER ORGANS. >> FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO LIVE ON HER SPIRIT LIVES ON IN SOMEONE ELSE I THINK IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL. >> THERE IS HOPE, HOPE THAT IT BRINGS MORE PEOPLE TO SAY YES. REPORTER: CHERYL GIBSON IS WITH THE LOUISIANA ORGAN PROCUREMENT AGENCY. SHE SAYS 68% OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT IN LOUISIANA ARE BLACK, BUT STATISTICS SHOW THEY DONATE AT A MUCH LOWER RATE. >> I SIGNED UP TO BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR. THEY WILL TAKE MY LIFE AND GIVE MY ORGANS TO SOMEONE ELSE. REPORTER: THE HOPE IS THAT THROUGH EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY, COURTNEY’S MEMORY CAN INSPIRE CHANGE, LIKE IT DID WITHIN HER OWN FAMILY. >> DID NOT HAVE A MOTHER OR SISTER -- HELPS A MOTHER OR SISTER HAVE ONE MORE BIRTHDAY, ONE MORE MARDI GRAS. REPORTER: ADVOCATES ARE ALSO ENCOURAGING PEOPLE OF COLOR TO GET REGULAR HEALTH SCREENINGS SO THEY CAN LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFE. THEY SAY THAT WILL PREVENT A LOT OF THE NEED FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTS. LIVE IN METAIRIE, MORGAN LENTES, WDSU NEWS. GINA: MORGAN, THANK YOU. AUGUST IS NATIONAL MULTI-ETHNIC DONOR AWARENESS MONTH. DOCTORS SAY AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT HAS THE BEST CHANCE AT SUCCESS WHEN THE RECIPIENT AND DON
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Longtime sickle cell anemia patient lives on through decision to donate organs

August is National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month.

Morgan Lentes
Anchor
A longtime sickle cell anemia patient, who died earlier this year, is living on through the decision to donate her organs.Courtney Galle died earlier this year after suffering an aneurysm. She had just turned 40.Sydni Sayles told sister station WDSU that her niece was a passionate advocate for patients in a similar situation."She was a huge advocate of that and so it was a no-brainer to me. I also spoke with her sons and they were like, 'Oh no, mom would really want that,'" Sayles said. "For someone else to live on, her spirit lives on in someone else. I think that's just so beautiful."East Jefferson General Hospital in Louisiana, where Galle was a patient for many years, celebrated the decision to donate by hosting a hero's walk through the halls of the hospital."I think I'll remember Courtney forever," nurse Vonshella Gibson said. "She was a beautiful soul."Sickle cell anemia is a blood disease that causes extreme pain in patients. There is currently no cure."You can't really move a lot. You're mostly in bed resting," said Gibson. "(Courtney) wanted to make sure that hopefully, one day, there will be a cure and people won't suffer the way that she did."Officials with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency also hope Galle's story will inspire other people of color to consider organ donation. Cheryl Hills, with LOPA, said 68% of people waiting for a kidney transplant in Louisiana are African American, but statistics show that minorities donate at a much lower rate than their white counterparts."(Some) are afraid of the doctor, what might happen if they sign up to be an organ donor," Hills said. "They'll say, 'They're going to take my life and give my organs to someone else.'"Hills, whose late brother donated his organs to save five lives, said those fears are simply unfounded. "My job is to tell them, 'No. That's illegal,'" Hills said.She also encouraged African Americans to prioritize their health. She said through regular blood pressure screenings and other preventative care, many people can avoid the need for a future organ transplantTo learn more about how to become an organ donor, click here.

A longtime sickle cell anemia patient, who died earlier this year, is living on through the decision to donate her organs.

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Courtney Galle died earlier this year after suffering an aneurysm. She had just turned 40.

Sydni Sayles told sister station WDSU that her niece was a passionate advocate for patients in a similar situation.

"She was a huge advocate of that and so it was a no-brainer to me. I also spoke with her sons and they were like, 'Oh no, mom would really want that,'" Sayles said. "For someone else to live on, her spirit lives on in someone else. I think that's just so beautiful."

East Jefferson General Hospital in Louisiana, where Galle was a patient for many years, celebrated the decision to donate by hosting a hero's walk through the halls of the hospital.

"I think I'll remember Courtney forever," nurse Vonshella Gibson said. "She was a beautiful soul."

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disease that causes extreme pain in patients. There is currently no cure.

"You can't really move a lot. You're mostly in bed resting," said Gibson. "(Courtney) wanted to make sure that hopefully, one day, there will be a cure and people won't suffer the way that she did."

Officials with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency also hope Galle's story will inspire other people of color to consider organ donation. Cheryl Hills, with LOPA, said 68% of people waiting for a kidney transplant in Louisiana are African American, but statistics show that minorities donate at a much lower rate than their white counterparts.

"(Some) are afraid of the doctor, what might happen if they sign up to be an organ donor," Hills said. "They'll say, 'They're going to take my life and give my organs to someone else.'"

Hills, whose late brother donated his organs to save five lives, said those fears are simply unfounded.

"My job is to tell them, 'No. That's illegal,'" Hills said.

She also encouraged African Americans to prioritize their health. She said through regular blood pressure screenings and other preventative care, many people can avoid the need for a future organ transplant

To learn more about how to become an organ donor, click here.