Meet Glenn Matsuki, who is a Hospital Services Coordinator for OneLegacy, a transplant donor network that is dedicated to helping save and heal lives by working in concert with Southern California’s 12 transplant centers, 220 hospitals as well as potential donor families and donor recipients. OneLegacy is part of Donate Life America, an organization for which Alex O’Loughlin is an ambassador and spokesperson.

Glenn himself is a heart transplant recipient and also runs the Donate Life Organ & Tissue Donation Blog. I recently had the privilege to interview him about his drive, his work, Three Rivers and Alex O’Loughlin.

What do you do as a Hospital Services Coordinator for OneLegacy?

“My colleagues and I integrate ourselves within our assigned hospitals to pave the way for organ, eye & tissue donation. We build relationships with hospital administration, physicians, nursing, social workers, spiritual services… anyone connected in delivering medical care. We ensure that organ donation policies are implemented, we educate hospital staff about the need for organ donation and the donation process, we educate hospital visitors to encourage them to register as an organ donor, we establish hospital Donate Life awareness events, we are present for organ donor referrals and organ donor cases to ensure that the donation process is sensitive to the potential donor family. We are the advocate for the potential transplant recipient. Additionally, we work with our community partners to participate in donor awareness campaigns, educating multicultural groups about the need and benefits of organ donation.”

You received a heart transplant in 1995. How different is your life now compared to your life before your operation?

“Prior to getting ill, I led a very healthy life style, watched what I ate, exercised daily and never had any surgery. The one year I did not receive my seasonal flu shot (because I was too busy), I came down with a viral flu that attacked my heart. Within five weeks I was in congestive heart failure and was admitted to the hospital because my heart was not functioning. The day after being admitted, my physician delivered the news that I needed a heart transplant. Being relatively young, that hit me like a ton of bricks. The time I spent on the wait-list was the most frightening period of my life as my health quickly deteriorated; daily I was reminded that my heart was quickly failing — my fingers were turning blue, my extremities were always cold, I lost so much weight, my heart beat was feeble and I was so very weak.

“I was relatively lucky as I spent only 11 weeks on the transplant wait-list. Back in 1995, there were approximately 45,000 individuals wait-listed, whereas today over 104,000 people are waiting for a life saving transplant.  Immediately after the transplant I felt incredible, my fingers were no longer blue and my extremities were warm. I felt an immediate connection to my new heart and a spiritual sense of awe, comfort and security. Anonymously I wrote a letter of thanks to my donor family, however I never heard back from them despite writing several times. I knew at that point that I needed to do something to honor my special gift and express my thanks — it was a no-brainer! I needed and wanted to be a part of the organ donation and transplant community to help others faced with the frightening prospect of going through what I had just experienced.

“At first I joined Cedars-Sinai Medical Center — where I got my transplant — as a volunteer, meeting and mentoring pre-transplant heart patients. Later I joined the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Liver & Kidney Transplant Program and for over six years I served as the transplant administrator.  When the position at OneLegacy was offered to me, I leaped at the opportunity to work on the donation side because I realized that without more organ donors, there would never be enough organs for transplant to help save those on the wait-list. A wait-list that continues to grow exponentially.”

What is the biggest challenge the organ donation cause is currently facing?

“The biggest hurdle is to get as many individuals registered as an organ, eye & tissue donor. Currently there are just over 5.8 million Californians on the California donor registry (Donate Life California / Done Vida California). However, California represents approximately 20% of the national transplant wait-list. So for a state of approximately 37 million, we are far from where we need to be.

“It’s important to designate your wishes because without it, a family faced with the sudden death of their loved one will need to make that decision. Often the family will not consent to donation because they don’t know what their loved one’s wishes were. We encourage everyone to designate their wishes by registering to be an organ, eye & tissue donor. We also encourage you to make your family aware of your wishes, so that they don’t need to make this agonizing decision.”

What can a star like Alex O’Loughlin achieve by becoming an ambassador for Donate Life?

“Celebrities play a vital role in getting the message out because their fans often follow their example, thus causes such as Donate Life are furthered because of celebrity endorsements. What makes Alex unique is that not only has he made the decision to be a registered donor, he also wanted to know everything about organ donation, so that when he speaks for the cause and portrays a transplant surgeon in Three Rivers, he would do so knowing all the facts. Alex is also willing to speak about his decision to be a donor at events such as the “World Transplant Day” in Berlin, Germany this past month — talk about going above and beyond.”

How do you think a show like Three Rivers will make a difference to the organ and tissue donation cause?

“The fact that the message about the need for organ donation is being viewed by millions of Americans and fans worldwide is significant; that’s millions of impressions every week! It’s also important that the “truths” about donation and transplantation and the organ donation and transplantation processes are portrayed as accurately as possible so that fear and concerns about donation are eliminated. I’m sure that families watching Three Rivers who are faced with tragedy will make a decision for donation because of the positive impression made by the show — I would not be surprised if families have done so already and have saved lives.”

How has the show improved since the first episode aired?

“Three Rivers has improved significantly since the first episode as we have come to know the characters that make up the team and so we connect with the characters as persons in whom we have an emotional stake. This is also true for each of the guest stars.

“I’m less happy with the colorful scene transitions, which is too gimmicky and appears to be a CBS thing since a couple of their shows use this technique.

“My other beef is that we need to get as many people as possible to watch the show. A significant increase in viewership will ensure the continuation of Three Rivers into a full first season and hopefully into another season. We need to get the message out — it’s on us, the fans of Three Rivers, Alex O’Loughlin and the organ donation and transplant community to make this happen.”

You’ve been selected to ride on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float on New Year’s Day. Congratulations! Can you please explain why this is so significant?

“Thank you so much! This is special on several levels. First, to be nominated by the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Transplant Program to represent them was a surprise and a privilege. All their transplant patients are amazing individuals who champion the cause of donation and in their own right should also be riding the float. Having been selected to represent the pre and post transplant patients and the transplant program carries tremendous responsibility, as I need to ensure that their good work is recognized worldwide, because the transplant care provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Comprehensive Transplant Program is what makes them a “Center of Excellence”.

“Secondly, this is an opportunity to use the media attention from the Rose Parade to continue my endeavors in raising awareness for the critical need of organ donors and to honor the 104,000 Americans who are on the transplant wait-list. We also need to remember that worldwide there is a shortage of transplantable organs, so this is essentially a global health care crisis. Calling attention to this and to encourage the citizens of the world to register to be an organ donor makes my float riding experience so exciting!”

You’d like to surpass your Rose Parade Float fundraising objective by collecting at least $9,000. How will the money be put to use?

“The funds raised will benefit Donate Life so that our national donor awareness programs may continue. These programs include National Donate Life Month (April), National Donate Life Flags across America, National Donor Sabbath (Nov 13-15) and Donate Life events throughout the year in communities. People should know that Donate Life receives very little government funding! All our efforts are the result of the generosity of hardworking individuals across the country — I meet them every day through the Donate Life Organ & Tissue Donation Blog and in the community. This is a grass roots effort by individuals, families, companies, organizations and communities all gathering together for the noble cause of saving lives.”

If you had just one message to share, what would it be?

“I encourage everyone to consider being an organ, eye & tissue donor by registering with their donor registry and to share their decision to be a donor with their family. One organ donor has the opportunity to save up to eight lives while one tissue donor can save and enhance the lives of up to 50 people. It’s the ultimate gift of generosity.”

[tags]glenn matsuki, organ donation, donate life, done vida, onelegacy, rose parade float, alex o’loughlin, three rivers, andy yablonski[/tags]