John Russell

John Russell

Honoring a Son’s Memory

Ed Russell, 26, was on life support for 11 days following the crash of his 18-wheeler on an Arkansas highway in 1996. Only two weeks earlier, during a peaceful late summer father-and-son stroll through the woods at his parents’ home near Martinsville, IN, he and his dad, John, had discussed a neighbor’s ordeal with kidney dialysis.

One of John’s grandfathers had died of kidney failure many years ago. Getting deeper into the woods and the conversation, John and Ed shared their thoughts about organ donation. John and his wife, Donna, had the same conversation previously and were in agreement that both wanted to be organ, tissue and eye donors if anything happened to them. John recalls his son accepting this decision and, as they walked toward the creek that winds through the woods, Ed turned to his dad and said ‘I could be a donor, too’.

Knowing Ed wanted to help others live did not lessen the Russells’ grief over losing him but it did give them some comfort during a parent’s worst nightmare.

John says the void will always be there but his commitment to educating people, especially teenagers, about organ donation over the past decade has been rewarding. He has been speaking to high school health classes in dozens of schools since 1998. Now retired from Eli Lilly and Company, John credits a fellow employee with encouraging him to launch his own personal awareness campaign for organ donation. He contacted the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization (IOPO) and was welcomed with open arms. He was a trainer at Lilly and helps train IOPO volunteers in addition to his speaking engagements in the schools.

"My goal has been to add two new schools each year," he said. "I average one presentation a week from September through May." He often takes a transplant recipient with him. David Bertorello, 40, received a double lung transplant in 2000 and has addressed high school students with John many times.

"John is very passionate about IOPO," said Bertorello. "It’s unfortunate that John has to tell his story. But he does it so other people learn how important organ donation is. It’s a true passion for him because he can help save someone’s life."

Learning John’s son was an organ donor after he has engaged them with his creative, interactive presentation has dramatic impact on teenagers. He asks for volunteers from the class to help him. He then has the students close their eyes and reach into coolers to feel simulated organs – things like sausage and baked potatoes doused with Hawaiian Punch. He talks about the number of patients on the transplant waiting lists and that approximately 18 people die each day while waiting for a donor.

Both sides of the equation are covered; not just the importance of donors. He wants students to realize no one is immune to the possibility of catastrophic illness or injury.

As time passes, John encounters more students in his audiences who are transplant recipients. He always asks if anyone is from a donor family or knows an organ recipient. He has spoken in five schools where there are kids who have had organ transplants. He speaks with pride of David Raasch, a student at Danville High School.

"David received a kidney when he was only 17 months old," explained John. "The first time I asked him to address the class he only spoke for two minutes. But when he was a senior he talked for 15 minutes." John stays in touch with David, now in college, and a handful of other young people who are living because of organ donation.

Sometimes people ask John why he does this work. He always tells them it is because it is so rewarding to see recipients who have a second chance at life.

"My son would have done the same for me," he concludes, "it honors Ed."