April 30, 2011: "Month raises awareness of organ donation" by Rachel Osborn, The Mountain Press
To celebrate the lives of organ recipients and to honor the 3,500 people per week who register to be an organ donor, April has been designated (read more)
April 14, 2011: "SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY CELEBRATE DONATE LIFE MONTH"--April is National Donate Life Month, and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security are encouraging Tennesseans to register for organ donation at one of its Driver Service Centers across the state...(read more)
December 9, 2010: "Knox teen's image and message ready for roses" Written by: Anthony Welsh, WBIR 10
"I firmly believe if you look hard enough you can find some good to come of any tragedy."
Making something good out of something tragic has been a mission of sorts for Betsy Harrell and family for nearly four years.
An off-road truck crash took the life of Mandy Harrell, 18, in 2006. The Central High School graduate was an organ donor, it was a title she learned growing up in a family that knows the meaning very well.
Mandy's grandfather received a donated heart and kidney when she was a young child. The donation kept Grandpa around for nearly a decade.
Today, almost four years since Mandy Harrell's accident, her family continues spreading the message of organ donation all across East Tennessee. "You know, I never really thought about it until this happened to Mandy," Missy McMillan, a family friend and fellow member of Central Baptist Church in Fountain City said. McMillan received an organ donor registration card at a Central football game thanks to the Harrell's. The family sponsored a cheerleading platform since Mandy was a cheerleader while in school and one night made a push for organ donors.
"I actually signed up there," McMillan said.
While the message has been well received in the Central community, now the Harrell's are taking Mandy to a much bigger stage: The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.
Thursday night the family put the finishing touches on what's called a floragraph. It's a piece of art that closely resembles Mandy's portrait. Like everything in the parade, it's made of all organic material: flowers, spice and coffee.
"Oh, it's amazing, you can actually smell it, the flowers, the spices," McMillan said. Artists in California put the image together but left off the eyebrows. A task that Mandy's mother, father, and brother took care of in Fountain City. They'll now mail it back to Pasadena where it will be mounted on a float, ready for the New Year's Day parade.
The organ donor message and Mandy Harrell's face will likely be seen by millions.
"She'd love it. There are millions of people on this street and on TV looking at you and I know you have to be so excited," Betsy Harrell, Mandy's mother said.
Who knows, some of those in the audience could be one of the six people who are still able to enjoy parades at least in part because of Mandy's gift.
July 15, 2010: 15 YEAR OLD HEART RECIPIENT GETS NEW HEART -- THIS TIME ON HER DRIVER'S LICENSE
Rockwood, Tennessee ‐‐‐ Three years ago Jordon Hensley never thought she would be taking a test to get her driver license permit. Thanks to a local families generous gift of a healthy heart~ today that dream is a reality.
Jordon had the heart of a stranger and a second chance to be a normal teenager. Jordon was born with congenitally corrected transposition; a condition that means her heart worked backwards.
After four open heart surgeries she desperately needed a heart transplant to live. At first she was too weak to withstand another surgery but after an infusion of medication she was strong enough to receive a transplant and was placed on the list shortly after. Jordon received her life‐saving transplant at Vanderbilt Medical Center Nashville in 2007 and will be forever grateful to a donor that lived only 20 miles away from her home.
“Today marks a significant milestone in Jordon’s life” says Lisa Clark, Donate Life Tennessee “We continue to enhance and support individuals' decision to designate themselves as organ, eye and tissue donors and improve the chances for those waiting for life‐saving and life enhancing transplants. Tennesseans can register to be an organ donor by simply Checking YES when applying for, or renewing their driver’s license. A small red heart is placed on the driver license, signifying them as an organ donor,” said Clark. If your license is not due for renewal, you may register online at www.TnDonorRegistry.org .
As of July 13, 2010 1,437,788 Tennesseans have signed up on the Donate Life Tennessee Organ & Tissue Donor Registry either online or through the Department of Safety. On average nearly 3,500 people are added each week. While the rate falls far short of nationwide goal to register 50% of each state’s licensed drivers, Tennessee’s registry is growing quickly. In 2009, Tennessee ranked third in the nation for the fastest growing state donor registries at a rate of 14% annually.
November 25, 2009 -- Erlanger hospital and T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital were presented with the Department of Health and Human Services Department's medal of honor for organ donation. -- read more
October 13, 2009 -- Red Bank Man Receives Heart Transplant After 2 1/2 Year Wait -- read more
October 12, 2009 -- 9-year-old Girl's Death Is Seven People's "Miracle" -- "She had love in her heart and never meet a stranger," Robert Starnes says of his daughter Jessie. But the life of the little girl, known to give away her own school supplies to needy classmates, would be cut suddenly short read more
June 3, 2009 -- Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS) & Donate Life Tennessee Announce “Show Us Your Heart Tennessee”: Driver License Donor Designation Information Booths Planned Statewide -- TDOS will host over 25 Donor Designation booths read more
April 9, 2009 -- Skyler's Story: Donating Life -- Skyler was just three and half months old when he was critically injured... read more
April 1, 2009 DONOR REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY CELEBRATES THE LIVES
OF TENNESSEE ORGAN AND TISSUE DONORS --- Today, families from across the state will gather to celebrate their loved ones ‘gift of life’. Recipients attend the ceremony to thank all donor families for their courage, compassion and willingness to donate in the midst of tragedy. “We honor donor families today because of read more
December 9, 2010: "Knox teen's image and message ready for roses"
was an organ donor, it was a title she learned growing up in a family that knows the meaning very well. 
"Oh, it's amazing, you can actually smell it, the flowers, the spices," McMillan said. Artists in California put the image together but left off the eyebrows. A task that Mandy's mother, father, and brother took care of in Fountain City. They'll now mail it back to Pasadena where it will be mounted on a float, ready for the New Year's Day parade. 
July 15, 2010: 15 YEAR OLD HEART RECIPIENT GETS NEW HEART -- THIS TIME ON HER DRIVER'S LICENSE 
October 12, 2009 -- 9-year-old Girl's Death Is Seven People's "Miracle" -- "She had love in her heart and never meet a stranger," Robert Starnes says of his daughter Jessie. But the life of the little girl, known to give away her own school supplies to needy classmates, would be cut suddenly short 