04-04-2025
WVU Medicine Fairmont Medical Center participates in National Donate Life Month
FAIRMONT, (WBOY) — April is Donate Life month, and with the help of WVU Medicine, the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) is helping inform the public on the life-changing impacts an organ donation can make.
On Thursday, WVU Medicine Fairmont Medical Center raised its 'Donate Life' flag to gain awareness of Donate Life Month. Currently, more than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, and the current wait time is roughly four years once an individual is placed on the waiting list.
CORE Volunteer Advocate Lori Batteli spoke at the event on Thursday, as she is also a recipient of a kidney donation.
UHC honors donors and their families for National Donate Life Month
After having multiple kidney infections, Batteli had an infection that turned septic, and her kidneys were damaged by 50%. A stomach bug had put Batteli in the ER on Christmas Eve, where she was told her kidneys had stopped functioning, leading her to start dialysis treatments and being placed on the transplant waitlist.
'I was on the list for about three and a half years. I got my kidney in June of 2019. I got a phone call at four in the morning, and I went out, got it, and immediately I just felt amazing afterwards. I don't know if it was just the high from surgery, but I just felt so much better, fluid was coming off of me, my kidney values were going down, and it was just everything. And I started to get my life back together,' said Batteli.
You can learn more about how to become a donor by visiting Donate Life's website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
