Homewood Volunteer Spreads Minority Donor Awareness

Homewood resident Angelique Marseille had never even heard of organ and tissue donation before an emergency liver transplant saved her life.

That was 20 years ago.

Since then, the graduate has dedicated the past 17 years volunteering to spread organ donor awareness. On Monday, Marseille spent her day sending out email blasts to encourage organ donation in honor of National Minority Donor Awareness Day.

"We need to get the numbers for minorities higher," Marseille said. "A lot of minorities don't register to be organ and tissue donors."

Minorities currently comprise 55 percent of the 111,000 people on the national transplant waiting list, according to Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network. Donate Life America data shows that, in 2010, only 2,089 African-Americans were donors compared to the 5,963 who received organ transplants. During the same year, 1,953 Latino donors were overshadowed by the 3,795 Latinos who received organs.

"Additionally, many of the conditions leading to the need for a transplant, such as diabetes and hypertension, occur with greater frequency among minority populations," Gift of Hope's Jack Lynch said. 

Marseille, an African-American woman, is Director of Gift of Hope's South Suburban Chapter of the African-American Task Force. She says the organization frequently participates in health fairs and community awareness events in attempt to increase organ and tissue donation and transplantation—especially among the African-American community. Marseille's advocacy, however, goes far beyond that.

"I love doing high school programs … I would even do birthday parties," Marseille said. "This is a very important mission for me."

Marseille says her work is inspired by all the donor families who say "yes" during some of the worst moments of their lives.

While National Minority Donor Awareness Day may have passed, to Marseille, it's an ongoing effort.

If you are interested in becoming an organ and tissue donor, you can register online at Donate Life Illinois.