Organ donation has saved countless lives and improved many others, and those gifts were recently celebrated at GBMC Healthcare system.

A new artwork installation, ‘Tree of Life', was unveiled recently during a special commemorative event at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC). The event recognized the precious gifts given by organ and tissue donors.

“We often hear about organ and tissue donation in terms of statistics and numbers.  However, for the donors who are now memorialized on our Tree of Life, their impact can never truly be measured by stats or figures,” says John Chessare, MD,  president and chief executive officer of the GBMC HealthCare system.

The ‘Tree of Life’ is a permanent art installation, in a prominent and busy location close to the Emergency Department Concourse, that memorializes the selfless act of organ and tissue donation and represents the legacy created by those who give the ultimate gift of organ, tissue and eye donations at GBMC.  

Families whose loved ones have donated organs, staff involved in organ donation along with The Living Legacy Foundation, the non-profit organ procurement organization for the state of Maryland, all witnessed the donor tree unveiling during the celebration.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of donors and their families who make the life-saving gifts of organ, eye, and tissue donation possible,” says Charlie Alexander, president and CEO of The Living Legacy Foundation. “This ‘Tree of Life’ installation not only honors their memory and legacy but allows potential donors to be inspired and immediately act by registering to save lives as a donor themselves.”

Donor families received a 3D leaf with their loved one’s name on it for them to keep and those leaves will also be provided to future donor families. The Tree of Life also includes a kiosk where anyone can designate to become a donor. The multidimensional art piece was funded primarily through the GBMC Philanthropy Department.

April is Donate Life Month, which brings awareness and honors those who chose to donate life.  There are currently nearly 3,800 Marylanders on the transplant waiting list. In 2016, organ, cornea and tissue donors in Maryland saved 771 lives and healed hundreds of others. Those wishing to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor can do so at the MVA or at www.donatelifemaryland.org