Emmanuel Casasola’s father Jose taught him how to play the guitar. When Emmanuel played as part of South Texas Blood & Tissue‘s Remembrance Celebration in August, he felt close to his father, a tissue donor who passed in 2017.
Emmanuel sang meaningful songs for more than 40 tissue donor families. He, like many other survivors, shared memories of their beloved departed in a place where their voices are heard. Families, including many on Facebook, joined the event for a night dedicated to tissue donors.
A place to talk, create, share
Tissue donation is an integral piece of our lifesaving mission, yet seldom talked about in detail, says Susan Smith, Life Legacies and Grief Support Manager. When death is involved, many don’t want to talk about it, she explains. Families are often silenced or not seen.
“When folks are grieving, they often feel isolated,” Susan says. “But look around, you’re not the only one on this journey, and we’re all here to hold space with each other, to tell our stories, to catch other’s stories and in a safe place while having some fun.
“When we’re together, we’re all together – an extended family.”
The theme for this year’s Remembrance Celebration was “Continuing Bonds.”
Donor families created stained glass hearts, held a candlelight vigil, and molded pipe cleaner hearts. These were interlocked into a larger chain adorning the Legacy Garden.
The pipe cleaner hearts serve as a representation that nobody should grieve alone. They represent the bonds people create by interacting.
Since 2015, Susan has given tissue donor families the chance to be heard. They’re able to share their grief in a safe space while having fun and connecting with others with shared experiences.
“I’m going to make it a happy place, not a place of misery,” she says. “We are going to do happy activities and think about them positively.”
Susan says tissue donation is often misunderstood.
“With organ donation families, they can say ‘I got to hear my son’s heart beating or see corneas right away. Tissue donation isn’t always able to give specifics of where it went or who it helped. Despite that, it continues to enhance lives.”
A lifesaving legacy
An individual’s issue donation can help as many as 75 people and can be stored for up to five years to continue helping others. Skin, bone and connective tissue can help a wide range of people. Including women undergoing mastectomies, babies with cleft palates, injured athletes, burn victims or many who need reconstructive surgery.
“You know our connections with loved ones remain after they die, they just change shape and form a little bit,” Susan says. “When the donation is talked about, it brings our loved ones forward with us. Your loved one is moving forward via that donation.”
The heart chain placed outside Donor Pavilion remains hanging. Despite the harsh weather conditions, heavy winds, rain, and heat, the chain remains: an allegorical reminder that bonds can transcend all adversaries and endure.