[Music playing]

Todd Pesavento, MD: This is our 18th ceremony. It started in 2008. At that point, we did 6,500 pinwheel plantings. 

[Text on screen: Todd Pesavento, MD
Medical Director, Comprehensive Transplant Center
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Todd Pesavento, MD: There were 30 volunteers. Today, there's many, many more. This is the 59th year we have actually done organ transplantation at Ohio State. It started in 1967, and I can't believe how much it's advanced from just how many patients we can help, the types of transplants we're able to perform, the short hospital stays they have, and how much better their outcomes are. I think we all know that we couldn't do that if we didn't have heroes, whether they be family members who graciously allowed their loved one to donate their organs, or living donors as well. And I think we all have to be humbled by that.

[Text on screen: Trish Smith O'Neill
Donor Family and Advocate]

Trish Smith O'Neill: Having lived on both sides of this journey, I have felt the deep pain of loss when a loved one becomes a donor. And I have felt the overwhelming relief and gratitude when a loved one is given a second chance of life. Through it all, one thing has remained true: donation is the greatest act of love. It bridges tragedy and hope. It turns endings into beginnings, and it reminds us all that we are connected. Looking out at all of you here today, ready to plant 13,900 pinwheels, I am reminded that while my story is unique, the impact of donation is universal. The lives it touches, the hope it gives, and the love it carries reaches farther than we can ever imagine. Thank you.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit: wexnermedical.osu.edu/transplant]

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