Jun 20, 2008 7:00 pm US/Eastern
U.S. Organ Transplant Games Come To A.C.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS 3) ―
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The N.J. "Hero's Act" requires drivers to mark yes or no to organ donation.
CBS
The U.S. Transplant Games torch was carried through Atlantic City in the
"Run For Life" Relay Friday.
The torch carrier was seven-year-old Erin Brenner,
who received a life-saving liver transplant when she was just 10-months-old.
"Without organ donation and without those parents saying
yes, I would be spending my Saturday morning at a gravesite instead of playing
softball or soccer," said Erin's mother, Irene
Brenner.
The torch was passed to raise awareness about the
importance and need for organ donations.
Dianne Bottino was greeted by cheers at the finish line.
Her husband died at 42 after waiting 10 months for an organ donation.
"Everything was in place for Joe to get his transplant,
but there were no donors. In the end, Joe's life rested on a gift and that
gift never came," Bottino said.
The New Jersey Assembly passed the "Hero's Act" bill
Monday which now requires drivers to select 'yes' or 'no' regarding being an
organ donor.
"Everybody who can save a life is a hero, and we all can
save a life," said Bottino.
The act will also require mandatory organ donation and
transplant education in schools.
"Because he was an organ donor, it just means that he's out
there somewhere," said Kathy O'Brien, whose husband donated his organs.
The U.S. Transplant Games flame will begin to burn in Pittsburgh, Pa.
in July.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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