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<p>When is a quilt more than simply a way to get warm on an autumn evening?</p><p>When it is a tribute to more than 100 organ and tissue donors from the Wilkes-Barre area and all of Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>The &#8220;Threads of Love&#8221; Memorial Quilts Exhibit will be held at the Commonwealth Medical College, Scranton, in conjunction with the Steamtown Health Fair on Oct. 10. The quilts display and health fair are free and open to the public.</p><p>Initiated in 2000 by the Gift of Life Donor Program, each quilted square, which make up several quilts, provides a special memory of those who have donated organs or tissue.</p><p>Often included in a quilt square is a treasured item of clothing that had been worn by the person who donated an organ or tissue or a photo of those who have donated engaged in their favorite activity as a reflection on their lives.</p><p>Accompanying each square is an explanation of the donor&#8217;s desire to &#8220;give life,&#8221; including everything from a favorite sport to family relationships to educational experiences.</p><p>The quilt exhibit is being presented by Gift of Life&#8217;s Northeast Pa. Coalition for Organ and Tissue Donation. Gift of Life is the organ donor program for the eastern half of Pennsylvania, as well as southern New Jersey and all of Delaware.</p><p>Susan Koomar, regional community relations coordinator for Gift of Life, said more than 39,000 life-saving transplants have been facilitated through the program since 1974, thanks to heroic donors and generous donor families throughout the region.</p><p>One donor, she said, can save eight lives. One tissue donor can help 50 or more people with precious gifts of skin, corneas, heart valves, bone, ligaments and veins.</p><p>&#8220;The quilts pay tribute to donors who gave the gift of life. We hope the quilts will inspire more people to register as an organ donor and share that decision with their family. People don&#8217;t have to wait until their driver&#8217;s license is up for renewal to register. They can register online anytime at <a href="http://www.donors1.org" target="_blank">www.donors1.org</a>,&#8221; said Koomar.</p><p>Gift of Life and the Northeast Pa. Coalition work on behalf of 6,000 patients awaiting a life-saving transplant.</p><p>According to the Gift of Life Program, more than 400 Pennsylvanians die each year because they did not get the transplant they needed.</p><p>In addition to the quilt display, the Steamtown Health Fair will include dozens of exhibitors offering free health screenings and information.</p><p>Gift of Life&#8217;s Northeast Pa. Coalition includes transplant recipients, donor family members and living donors. The group meets monthly at the University of Scranton and is open to anyone interested in promoting organ and tissue donation to help save lives.</p><p>For more information, contact Susan Koomar at skoomar@donors1.org or 267-421-7958. Visit Gift of Life&#8217;s website at <a href="http://www.donors1.org" target="_blank">www.donors1.org</a>.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Gift of Life volunteer and kidney donor Karen Van Why, of Wilkes-Barre, is shown at a health fair with a &#8216;Threads of Love&#8217; memorial quilt honoring local organ and tissue donors. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_giftoflife.jpg</photo0><caption0>Gift of Life volunteer and kidney donor Karen Van Why, of Wilkes-Barre, is shown at a health fair with a &#8216;Threads of Love&#8217; memorial quilt honoring local organ and tissue donors. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> The &#8220;Threads of Love&#8221; Memorial Quilts Exhibit</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> The Commonwealth Medical College, Medical Sciences Building lobby, 525 Pine St., Scranton</p><p><strong>When:</strong> 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 10.</p><p><strong>Who:</strong> Free and open to the public</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Quilts exhibit to pay tribute to organ, tissue donors