Superior HealthPlan, South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and Texas Organ Sharing Alliance Demonstrate Why Being a Donor Matters

SAN ANTONIO, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- One organ and tissue donor can impact as many as 75 people, including burn victims, breast cancer survivors and those waiting for life-saving organ transplants. In recognition of National Donate Life Month in April, Superior is proud to partner with South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and Texas Organ Sharing Alliance to shine a light on the difference just one person can make.

That's the premise of a new video released this month that features Melissa Thomas, a long-time Superior HealthPlan member, who passed away in 2019. The video features Thomas' mother as well as representatives from Superior, South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, to not only share Melissa's story, but also demonstrate the importance of being an organ and tissue donor, encouraging Texans to sign up and save lives on the Donate Life Texas state registry. 

"To see Mary Kay telling Melissa's story and how generous she was throughout life is really inspiring," said Ashley Frolick, Communications Specialist, BioBridge Global (South Texas Blood & Tissue Center). "Our organization facilitates about 500 tissue recoveries each year, and it's through generous donors like Melissa that we're able to help, heal or even save more than 30,000 people across the region every year."

"Mary Kay has become a big advocate for organ and tissue donation since her daughter passed away," explained Clarissa Thompson, Senior Communications Coordinator with Texas Organ Sharing Alliance. "She has such a beautiful story to share because Melissa was so passionate about being a donor. When she passed, Melissa impacted so many lives, including a 53-year-old man transplanted in Texas who received her liver."

People of all ages and medical histories can register as donors. Along with kidneys, lungs or hearts, donors can also provide skin tissue, tendons and even bone to people in need. Some of the ways organ and tissue donations are used include: 

• Helping burn victims recover with new skin tissue
• Repairing combat wounds suffered by veterans
• Allowing breast cancer survivors to recover from surgery
• Healing children born with heart defects
• Providing a better quality of life for those suffering from organ failure
• Remove the need for dialysis through the life-saving gift of a kidney transplant

"We're proud to join South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and Texas Organ Sharing Alliance to not only tell Melissa's story, but also focus on the impact one donor can make in the lives of others," said Mark Sanders, President and CEO. "Our purpose at Superior is to transform the health of Texas communities, one person at a time. While we do that collectively as an organization, I think Melissa's story is a unique example of how just one person can do that, too. I sincerely thank Melissa's family for helping us share her story."

About Superior HealthPlan 
Founded in 1999, Superior HealthPlan is a managed care company that delivers quality healthcare throughout Texas. Committed to transforming the health of the community, one person at a time, Superior supports active local involvement in all 254 Texas counties with 4,000 employees in 9 offices throughout the state. Superior is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading multi-national healthcare enterprise offering both core Medicaid and specialty services. More information can be found at www.SuperiorHealthPlan.com.

About South Texas Blood and Tissue Center
The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) is a nonprofit community blood center that provides blood, plasma, platelets and other blood components to 100 hospitals in 48 South Texas counties. It is the largest blood supplier in our region. In addition, it recovers and distributes donated human tissue for transplant. STBTC has a 45-year history serving the South Texas community. It is part of the BioBridge Global family of nonprofit organizations, which offers services in regenerative medicine and research including blood banking and resource management; cellular therapy; umbilical cord blood collection and storage; and testing of blood and plasma products to help patients in the United States and worldwide. STBTC has seven donor rooms in South Texas and conducts hundreds of mobile blood drives each year. STBTC is online at SouthTexasBlood.org.

About Texas Organ Sharing Alliance
Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), founded in 1975, is one of 58 federally-designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States. TOSA is committed to a mission of saving lives through the power of organ donation by providing organ donation and recovery services to Central and South Texans wishing to donate, and to those waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. 

SOURCE Superior HealthPlan