"It's got to come from the heart. You say to yourself, 'when I leave this world, what if I can help one or two or 10 to fifteen people?' It's not about me, but about a change for someone else."

--Tim Retz

Athletic and outgoing, 33-year-old Angela Retz was the picture of health.

A former standout high school athlete, she still found the time to regularly work out at the gym and play recreational sports. But life for Angela took a tragic turn three years ago when she suffered a minor stroke. Over the next several days, her condition gradually worsened before she suffered from a second and more serious stroke.

She was flown from Des Moines to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, but the stroke had already caused too much damage. Unfortunately, there was nothing her team of physicians could do.

"It's one of the sights you never want to see," said her older brother, Tim. "It's like getting hit in the face with a frying pan. You're always hoping for that miracle."

When the Retz family was approached about organ donation, they wanted to honor Angela's wishes. "She had indicated on her driver's license that she wanted to be an organ donor," Tim said. "She was very caring, very giving. She'd do anything for anybody."

For her family, organ donation was just another way that Angela could continue helping others.

"It's never quite the same without them, but it helps heal the pain," Tim said. "You've touched someone else's life, and that makes a difference to them."

After the loss of his sister, Tim continued to be proactive about the situation--turning his loss into someone else's gain. He teamed with the Iowa Donor Network to share Angela's story and help spread the importance of organ donation at various workshops and conferences.

"I look at it as my calling for my sister," said Tim. "It's my commitment to her--to keep her legacy alive."

--Sara Westergaard

The transplant program at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is exceeding the goals established by organizers of a national project designed to improve the rate of organ donation.

The UI Hospitals and Clinics team is helping lead a national effort involving 200 U.S. hospitals increase organ donation rates by joining with Secretary of Health and Human Services director Tommy G. Thompson in the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative.

The initiative's goal is to save or enhance thousands of additional lives a year by spreading best practices to the nation's hospitals with the largest number of potential donors to achieve organ donation rates of 75 percent or higher in those hospitals.

Out of the 200 hospitals participating in the initiative, only 12 hospitals achieved the goal of a 75 percent donation rate. The current organ donation rate at UI Hospitals and Clinics is 87 percent.

"Our faculty and staff have risen to the challenge and increased our already historically high rate of donation," said Sue Witte, L.I.S.W., who helps coordinate the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative effort at UI Hospitals and Clinics. "We couldn't be more proud of their commitment and dedication to helping patients receive this life-saving care."

American hospitals performed more than 26,000 transplants last year, but more than 86,000 U.S. patients are currently awaiting an organ transplant. However, only 46 percent of an estimated 14,000 potential donors donated organs last year. As a result, an average of 17 patient waiting for a transplant die every day in the U.S.

For more information, call UI Health Access toll-free and ask for Sue Witte or contact Witte directly at 319-356-1741. The Iowa Donor Network may be reached at 1-800-831-4131, or www.iowadonornetwork.org.

--Tom Moore