Southwest Transplant Alliance

Today is National Minority Organ Donor Awareness Day, established by the U.S. Department of Health to bring awareness to the need for more registered minority organ donors, said Pam Silvestri, public affairs director at Southwest Transplant Alliance.

"It's important for minorities to donate because there are so many minorities on the list," said Jennifer Cox, a black woman who is a kidney recipient.

"Minorities are donating in higher numbers than their population," Silvestri said. "However, they are over represented on the transplant list."

A black person could receive a heart, lung or liver from a white person, Silvestri said, but the medications given after a transplant are destructive to the kidneys; therefore, kidneys are better matched with a donor that has the same antigens.

Antigens are usually a protein or carbohydrate substance (as a toxin or enzyme) capable of stimulating an immune response. Matching antigens are more commonly found in a donor with the same racial and ethnic background, Silvestri said.

"It might be them one day needing an organ," Cox said.

For Sharon Beverly, 44, of Austin, that day came mid-February when kidney dialysis was no longer working.

"For four years I had a polycistic kidney disease in connection with hypertension," Beverly said. "In mid-February I was put on the transplant list after dialysis began failing."

Months later, Beverly received the eagerly anticipated call: A match had been found. She was the lucky recipient of one of Antwan Smith's kidneys.

The donor

Marcus Daniels said on the night of May 27, he and his 19-year-old nephew had planned to watch a basketball game.

"He was on his way to my house, and I was calling him on his cell phone to see where he was at," Daniels said.

As Smith turned the corner onto Ridgelea Avenue in Longview, he was struck in the head by a stray bullet and died from his injuries three days later. The woman police suspect of shooting Smith, Keisha Benjamin of Longview, was arguing with another man in the street and began firing shots.

Benjamin has remained in the Gregg County Jail on a $50,000 bond since May 28, according to online jail records, and has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The case is still under investigation, according to police officials.

"It's hard on me. I miss him so much," said Marcia Redic, Smith's mother. "I just take one day at a time."

At the hospital, Redic made a hurried and difficult decision to donate her only son's organs.

"I felt like if he was able to talk, he would have said yes," Redic said.

Lucky on the list

Beverly said some recipients wait on the list for years.

"I was truly blessed to get one so fast."

"It all depends on finding a compatible donor. Because kidneys require more matching and most donors are still white, many minority patients end up waiting longer," Silvestri said.

"So some people are matched more quickly than others when a compatible donor organ becomes available," she said. "I've seen people wait less than a day, and I've seen people wait years."

Beverly said she has since made a full recovery from the procedure and now leads a healthy life.

"I talked to Marcy (Smith's mother) about two weeks ago, and I just thanked her for her decision," Beverly said.

Redic said she was moved when she first saw pictures of Beverly.

"I still see my son through her," Redic said. "It's very emotional, but I'm excited to meet her one day."

Two other Texans received Smith's organs, according to Silvestri, but their personal information has not been made public. A 45-year-old man received Antwan's heart and other kidney, and a 61-year-old man received his liver.

Not forgotten

On July 10, Smith's friends and family gathered at the Boys and Girls Club of Gregg County to honor his memory. Smith was an active member of the club from age 11.

Robert Nash, the club's program director, presented Smith's mother with a plaque donating a yearly scholarship in Smith's name. The Antwan Smith Scholarship will be given to the oldest Youth of the Year recipient.

Nash said he misses seeing Antwan in the club every day and remembers him always smiling.

"I called him Big Antwan," Nash said. "And I never remember having to put him in time out. He was a really good kid."

"He was such a good kid," Daniels said. "He worked at Sears, and he loved basketball. He had never even gotten in a fist fight."

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Need for minority donors

PATIENTS AWAITING ALL LIFE-SAVING ORGAN TRANSPLANTS

Nationally: 102,031 awaiting all organs (about 29% are black; about 17% are Hispanic)

Texas: 9,186 awaiting all organs (about 21% are black; about 44% are Hispanic)

PATIENTS AWAITING KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS

Nationally: 79,901 awaiting kidneys (about 35% are black; about 18% are Hispanic)

Texas: 6,957 awaiting kidneys (about 24% are black; about 50% are Hispanic)

DONOR NUMBERS

Nationally: In 2007 and 2008, about 67% of deceased organ donors were white; 16% were black; 14% were Hispanic.

Texas: In 2007 and 2008, about 52% of deceased organ donors were white; 16% were black; 30% were Hispanic.

Source: Southwest Transplant Alliance

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How to become an organ donor

- Sign up while renewing or getting a driver's license.

- Go to www.donatelifetexas.org.

- Tell family and friends of your decision to become an organ donor.

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Misconceptions about organ donation

"The biggest misconception from all ethnic groups is that people believe if they are in an accident and taken to a hospital that the medical staff will not truly try to save their life," said Pam Silvestri, public affairs director at Southwest Transplant Alliance. Most hospitals are not transplants hospitals, she said.

Secondly, Silvestri said the medical staff trying to sustain the person's life is not aware of the patient's donor status.

"The doctor's first priorities are to save the life," Silvestri said. She added that transplant teams are not notified until after all attempts to save the life are exhausted and the person is declared dead.

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