Let's Talk About Life

Lifebanc has been part of the Cleveland community for about 35 years. It is a milestone that we want to celebrate, but it’s only a blink-of-an-eye, compared to the long-standing, distinguished history of E.F. Boyd and Son, Inc. Funeral Homes and Crematory, which has served Greater Cleveland’s African American community for over 115 years! 

Marcella Boyd Cox as Chief of Community Engagement she has spent her career helping families and giving back to the community. Listen as she shares the foundation of the family business and advocacy work in Cleveland.

Although not everyone meets the medical criteria to be an organ donor when they pass away, many people are able to give the life-healing and saving gift of tissue. Heart valves, bone, and cornea from tissue donors help individuals live a better life. The gift of skin is unique and is vital to the healing process of burn victims

According to the CDC, over a million Americans every year suffer from burn injuries that require medical attention, and 50,000 of those cases required hospitalization. Many patients require skin grafts to begin the healing process and depend on the generosity of tissue donors.  Lifebanc Tissue Services experts Rusty Morck, Director of Tissue Services and Lisa Bennet, Tissue Training & Education Specialist explain the many uses of tissue and, specifically, donated skin.

Coming from a family where many of the women suffered from heart disease, lifelong New Yorker Roxanne wasn't surprised when she learned she had suffered a silent heart attack. She was referred to a larger medical center and was told she would require a new heart to continue living. Roxanne waited for months in the hospital until finally, after three offers that didn’t work out, she received the heart of a 23-year-old firefighter.

Celebrate Heart Awareness Month and Black History Month with us by listening to Roxanne Watson's unique story. Although she wasn’t surprised to have heart disease,  she's amazed every day by the places she’s been, the people she’s met, and the number of lives she's impacted since being transplanted.

As northeast Ohioans, we are so fortunate to have access to premium healthcare in our own backyard. We take pride in our strong donation and transplant community that includes numerous organizations providing services, education, and outreach to a population in need. Lifebanc is honored to be one of those organizations!

With so many groups reaching out to the same populations, overlap would inevitably follow. Tricia Fliehman, Walgreens Regional Account Executive Specialist and Co-founder of the Greater Cleveland Transplant Collaborative, offers a solution for members of the donation and transplant community.

The past year has been difficult to maneuver in addition to the events of the past few weeks.  Listen to the second episode of season two as Elissa Berman, Lifebanc Sr. Bereavement Services Counselor is a calming voice in the noise and provides ways to cope with fear-filled times.

It was a beautiful fall day in October of 2016. Priscilla Masello and her family – including her husband, son, mother, and brothers were together enjoying what seemed to be the perfect day. The day started with a double-header baseball game then there were a birthday celebration, an impromptu football game, and rides in a dream car recently purchased by Bobby, Priscilla’s brother.

When it was Priscilla’s turn to get a ride in the new car, she recalls Bobby’s smile and being so happy. Then the unthinkable occurred.

Lifebanc will be celebrating 35 years of service in 2021, and we have been a leader in the area of grief support for many of those years. We are proud of our dedication to donor families and the comprehensive aftercare program that we offer to families whose loved one was an organ, eye, or tissue donor. All of our bereavement services are offered at no cost to donor families and include individual counseling, numerous types of group therapy, and other means of support.

When COVID-19 hit, Lifebanc shifted our services to the virtual realm and will continue to do so in 2021. Elissa Berman, the Senior Bereavement Counselor for Lifebanc, provides an update on available resources and how they will look in the future.

The numbers are staggering – there are nearly 100,000 Americans waiting for a kidney transplant – but only 21,000 will actually receive a kidney this year. But there is a way to increase the number of people helped.

Anna Tzinis, from the National Kidney Foundation provides details on free resources to kidney patients and families looking for a living donor through THE BIG ASK: THE BIG GIVE program. It also offers free resources to those who are thinking about donating a kidney for transplant.

The surgery is successful, and the recovery is going well.  You are sent home with a functioning organ given as the most amazing gift.  You’re alive but overwhelmed.  Many recipients experience a feeling of now what that settles in between doctor’s appointments and maneuvering a new normal.  One of the best therapies for transplant recipients is to talk with someone who intimately shares a similar journey.

Chris Shay-Downer, former transplant nurse and now the President of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of Transplant Recipients International organization – or TRIO as it is more commonly known, shares why this is a widely recognized organization that brings together transplant recipients, those waiting for a transplant, and their families – along with donor families for the purpose of supporting those who have been touched by transplantation.

In case you're not aware, November is National Eye Donor Awareness Month.  Who better than to share their story of the impact of the gift of sight than a cornea recipient.  Lois is a retired Cleveland Clinic Emergency Room nurse where - at one time, she would talk to families about their loved one being a donor.  Listen to the fascinating story of one woman and how the gift of life came full circle.