At Lifebanc, Life Matters

An Open Letter from Gordon Bowen

Our mission, to save and heal lives, has no colors. Death, and the ability to give someone else a second chance through organ, eye, and tissue donation, does not discriminate. But as the past few weeks have made abundantly clear, life, on the other hand, is filled with discrimination and injustice.

For many of our colleagues, friends in the community and those we serve, racism is and has been a very real part of their lives. For others, recent events have awakened us to this reality, and urgently demanded we do better. There is no denying the tension, sadness, trauma, and anger. Personally, I can’t pretend to understand everything that is taking place. But this is not about me. This is not about Lifebanc. This is about humanity. The human lives we so diligently work to save.

It’s not enough to say that we’re an ally or that Black Lives Matter. Lifebanc is rooted in values of collaboration, advocacy, and compassion. This goes beyond just that of organ, eye, and tissue donation. And to fulfill these values, we must be steadfast in our commitment to further our learning, listening, and uplifting the diverse needs and concerns of our workforce, colleagues, communities, and partners.

This starts with making sure we not only voice our position on standing with Black Lives Matter but having conversations about how we can go beyond this declaration. We’re looking to create safe spaces for open and honest dialogue about challenges, inequities, and, most of all, how we can do better.

We encourage you to speak up with questions, concerns, support, or suggestions.  Please reach out via our contact us form to continue the conversation.

Stay well,

Gordon Bowen, Lifebanc CEO

Stories

The stories of our donor and recipient families are powerful, moving celebrations of life, hope, and love that get to the heart of why we do what we do, and the difference we can all make. Lifebanc believes that anyone can be a hero – and we see it every day in the generous decisions of people and families who choose and support organ and tissue donation. We’d like you to meet some of these heroes, and some of the Northeast Ohio neighbors they are helping.

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