At the home basketball doubleheader on Thursday, Southeast Missouri Athletics once again partnered with Mid-America Transplant to raise awareness for the importance of organ and tissue donation. This was the first time that the Redhawks and Mid-American Transplant have partnered for a basketball game
As part of the partnership, the basketball teams wore special blue and green uniforms, the official colors of Donate Life. The ongoing efforts to increase the number of people registered for organ donation is special for the SEMO community.
SEMO students have played an important role in organ and tissue donation. Former SEMO soccer student-athlete Meg Herndon was tragically involved in a fatal accident. Through her selfless gift of organ and tissue donation, Meg was able to save and heal more than 17 lives and leave a lasting legacy.
Also, a former music major, Madeline Flieg, was a registered donor. When she passed away, her corneas restored sight to two people and more than 42 other lives were healed through tissue donation.
Mid-America Transplant is the regional organ procurement organization (OPO) responsible for facilitating safe, reliable donations for transplant. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ, tissue, and eye donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas.
SEMO men’s basketball is in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Redhawks will play their final home game this season on Saturday afternoon – a women’s and men’s doubleheader against rival Lindenwood.
