Marquette man encourages organ donation
A Marquette man, who has been on the receiving end of an organ donation, has taken part in a recent documentary film.
Twin Cities Public Television of Minneapolis–Saint Paul produced the film, “Transplant: A Gift For Life”.
In 2009, Bob Koehs had a lung biopsy at the Mayo Clinic. He was referred to the specialty facility by his Marquette area physician. He needed a double lung transplant…and he received it that same year.
The film includes Bob meeting the family of his lung donor, a teenage girl from Elk River, Minnesota. She died in a motorcycle accident.
Having lived now for nearly three years with Chelsey’s lungs, Bob encourages everyone to become an organ donor.
Marquette General Hospital is involved with organ donation. Registered Nurse Jaime Crabb says the hospital works with regional agencies that assist in organ procurement, including the University of Wisconsin and the “Gift of Life Michigan” and its eye and tissue bank.
The producers of the PBS documentary are distributing the film to PBS stations around the country. “Transplant: A Gift For Life” will air on WNMU-TV13 Sunday, December 9 at 4 p.m.
To find out more about being an organ donor, go to www.michigan.gov/sos and click on the ‘organ donation’ box.