Samantha’s Story – Saving Lives Through Organ and Tissue Donation

Tim Joos, whose daughter Samantha became a tissue donor in 2003, recently shared the moving story of Sam’s death and the decision he and his wife Deb made to donate her tissue as a guest on ESPN’s Sports Medicine Weekly, a Chicago radio show hosted by orthopedic surgeon Brian Cole, MD, of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center. The interview and conversation Tim had with Dr. Cole is powerful. Listen to the first 10 minutes, and you will be inspired by Dr. Cole’s introduction, Tim’s story and the impact Sam (pictured right) had on people’s lives. Tim, a former resident of St. Charles, Ill., once chaired the Gift of Hope Advisory Council and served as an Advocates for Hope volunteer and a member of our Donor Family Advisory Council along with his wife Deb. Seven years after Sam became a donor, he made an altruistic kidney donation to a stranger. Tim is now an IT Information Systems Manager with AlloSource in Centennial, Colo. AlloSource is Gift of Hope’s primary tissue donation partner. Part of the organization’s marketing efforts include a sponsorship for ESPN’s Sports Medicine Weekly. Through its sponsorship, AlloSource provides the show with guests to educate the listening public about tissue donation and transplantation. Gift of Hope President/CEO Kevin Cmunt has been a past guest on the show. Gift of Hope had the sacred privilege of honoring the Joos’ wishes for Sam to be a donor back in 2003. She, Tim, Deb and Dr. Cole provide a great reminder of why we work so hard every day to carry out our mission. To learn more about Sam and the Joos’ donation experience, watch Samantha’s story Samantha’s Story, the video below that we produced several years ago. It’s one of many donation stories you’ll find posted on the Gift of Hope website. For more inspiring stories visit the Gift of Hope YouTube channel.