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Jewish student center hosts first-ever donation week


The Hillel Jewish Student Center is hosting the first-ever Organ Donor Awareness Week at ASU this week in memory of a local rabbi's father.

Organ donation is important and awareness may be low among students, said Michelle Frankford, Hillel program coordinator and liberal arts and sciences graduate student.

"It's important to leave your organs here," Frankford said. "They help to keep people alive."

The week's events are being held in memory of Arthur Schoenberg, Rabbi Barton Lee's father-in-law who received a heart transplant. At the time, Schoenberg was the oldest living person to receive this operation. Schoenberg died last year. Lee is the rabbi at the Hillel center.

"That's what inspired us to do this," Frankford said. "It's something very close to Rabbi Lee and his family, and we wanted to keep [Schoenberg's] memory alive."

Events will begin Tuesday and run through Sunday. Throughout the week, students will be encouraged to fill out organ donation cards as part of the national college campaign "Be Carded."

Tuesday afternoon, ASU student Jaime Sherman from the Donor Network of Arizona will speak at the Hillel Center. Sherman, who received a heart transplant, will speak about her experiences and the impact of organ donation.

On Thursday, a panel discussion will be held in the Memorial Union to discuss religious perspectives on organ donation. There is debate among the Jewish community about organ donation, as some believe it is important for the body to remain whole when buried. The panel will consist of religious figures from the community, including Father Fred Lucci from the All Saints Catholic Newman Center and Pastor Lee Meyer from the Alleluia Lutheran Student Ministry.

"We're trying to take the myths and break them down a little bit to find out what the facts are about religious beliefs," Frankford said.

The week will wrap up with the Arthur Schoenberg Miniature Golf Tournament at Fiddlesticks Family Fun Park in Tempe. All proceeds from the tournament, along with any donations received during the week, will be given to the Gift of the Heart, the Foundation for Cardiovascular and Transplant Research.

There are about 900 patients in Arizona waiting for transplants, according to the Donor Network of Arizona. Organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidney and small intestine can be donated, as well as tissues like skin, bones, veins, heart valves, tendons and ligaments.

Reach the reporter at katherine.j.krzys@asu.edu.


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