Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 12, 1993 TAG: 9304120283
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FROM A YOUNG MAN'S DEATH - LIFE
MATT Hancock, features editor of The Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's student newspaper, died Jan. 25. He was vice president of the Tech chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon, a writer, a poet and a journalist. His goal was the Pulitzer. Matt's death was caused by a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. He was 22.Matt collapsed shortly after meeting deadline, about 4 a.m. Volunteer rescue-squad members worked for 45 minutes to restore his heartbeat. His heart continued to beat strongly for almost 12 hours in the intensive-care unit at Montgomery Regional Hospital near Virginia Tech. Medical personnel made every effort to save Matt's life.
Networking had begun for tissue matches and after midnight, the morning of Jan. 26, Matt became an organ donor. Ten people were given life and/or sight because he died.
Matt's day of dying and his funeral on the Virginia Tech campus can help to dispel some of the myths surrounding organ donation, harvest and transplantation. His gift of life was free. His body was not mutilated. His casket was open.
Because of my previous volunteer advocacy for diabetes research, I have gotten to know several Virginians who have received organ transplants, and know too many people who wear a beeper, waiting for a call, waiting for a transplant.
On March 31, Gallup Poll results showed that 85 percent of Americans agree with the idea of organ donation. One donor can save many lives, yet hundreds of people die each year waiting for a transplant.
All of us need to sign a uniform-donor card and tell our family. When we die, we, too, can give the miracle of life. BUNNY HANCOCK ROANOKE