White Co Student Raising Awareness About Organ Donors

Those attending the Liberty Square Lester Flatt Celebration in Sparta Saturday may see a 7th grader educating the public about organ donations.

Maylee Graham attends White County Middle School. She is 2022’s Miss Volunteer State with organ donor awareness as her platform. Graham saw first hand how a organ donor can impact a family.

“My great aunt had a kidney transplant that saved her life,” Graham said. “She found out when she was younger about when she was a teen that she had polycystic kidney disease and she was on the transplant list and they found a donor.”

Graham said she will be set up at the festival from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. telling people the benefits of being a organ donor. Graham said she learned all about organ donations when she was invited to the Donate Life Headquarters in Nashville.

“I met the director and she told us many things about Donate Life and how to learn more about it,” Graham said.

Graham said one organ can save the life of eight people, and one tissue donor can improve the life of 75 individuals. Graham said over 12,000 people are waiting for a life saving transplant today.