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RENO, Nev. (Sept. 22, 2022) — Diagnosed with a rare lung disease in 2009, Reno local Dina Jennings is awaiting a life-saving lung transplant. She is one of the more than 600 Nevadans and 100,000 people in the U.S. on the national transplant waiting list.
Jennings will be honored at the Reno Aces’ Home Run for Life game, presented by Donor Network West, after the second inning, Monday, Sept. 26, at Greater Nevada Field as they take on the Tacoma Rainiers.
Before being placed on the national transplant waiting list in April 2022, Jennings had a strong connection to organ donation. Her father, Danny Turner, died in 2010 and, as an organ donor, he gave the gift of sight to a blind person. Now awaiting a lung transplant, Jennings relies on oxygen to live. She uses around three oxygen tanks each week. Despite her reliance on oxygen, she remains physically active as she wants to be as healthy as possible while waiting for a lung transplant match.
“Whenever I get a phone call, I think it may be the call that they’ve found a transplant match – my heart skips a beat every time I hear the phone ring,” said Jennings.
One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and heal up to 75 lives through tissue donation.
Donor Network West, northern Nevada and northern California’s federally designated non-profit organ procurement organization, is proud to have supported six Home Run for Life baseball games during the 2022 Aces’ season. The partnership has brought critical awareness about organ donation to the northern Nevada community and its sports fans. This will be the final Home Run for Life game of the 2022 season.
“Reducing the waiting list is what fuels our mission at Donor Network West,” Janice Whaley, president and CEO of Donor Network West, said. “Our partnership with the Reno Aces has provided incredible opportunities to share powerful stories like Dina’s in our community and give hope to those waiting for a second chance at life.”
Throughout the 2022 season, brave individuals and families in the northern Nevada community have been honored by taking a ceremonial trip around the bases, with each team lining the baselines. Individuals honored have been personally impacted by organ, eye and tissue donation.
“Seeing the community cheer on the Home Run for Life participants and their families this season has been incredibly special,” Eric Edelstein, president of Reno Aces and Greater Nevada Field, said. “The Reno Aces are proud to have partnered with Donor Network West to support the organization’s community outreach and educational efforts for organ donation.”
Anyone can register to be an organ donor. To learn more and to register as an organ donor, visit DonorNetworkWest.org.
— @MyDNWest —