MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) - Early in high school, Kayla Flanders was shocked when she realized how little she knew about organ donation. She spent the rest of her time at RVRHS teaching hundreds of driver’s ed students what it really means.

There might be some newly licensed drivers on the road who wouldn’t have registered to become organ donors if Kayla Flanders hadn’t told them all about it in school.

The Rancocas Valley Regional High School alumna spoke to hundreds of students taking driver’s education when she was a student advocate for the New Jersey Sharing Network.

Now a freshman studying chemical biology at St. Joseph’s University, Flanders was named the recipient of a scholarship from the nonprofit group in September. Flanders was awarded with the Missy’s Miracle scholarship, named after Missy Rodriguez, a Short Hills college counselor and mother of three who had a liver transplant 30 years ago, and set up a foundation to provide college scholarships for organ donors and transplant recipients.

Flanders first heard of the group two years ago when she saw a representative present at a leadership conference she was attending.

“I was shocked that I barely knew anything about the topic,” said Flanders, a Hainesport native. “I instantly felt the desire to combat such a minimization of the impact it can have on so many lives.”

Flanders is one of six students statewide who earned an award from the nonprofit group, which works closely with hospitals around the state to educate residents on organ donation.

“This year’s NJ Sharing Network scholarship recipients are a unique group of young people dedicated to raising awareness of organ donation,” Joe Roth, president and CEO of the NJ Sharing Network, said in a news release. “We know they will continue to make great strides when they start college this fall.”

Flanders said she’d like to continue educating communities on the ins and outs of organ donation. It’s even influenced her future career goals as a scientist seeking to help others through innovations in health. She’s currently exploring the more scientific side of the process by working in a research lab on her university’s campus, studying oxygen in the bloodstream.

“I’m hoping to better understand how organ donation works from a new perspective,” she said. “I’m working on starting a project in the spring semester on ethical considerations with organ donation so I can continue reaching out to small groups for educational presentations.”

Though some people may be uncomfortable with becoming organ donors, Flanders said what matters most is that they make an informed decision.

“With any uncomfortable or big decision, being fully educated makes a world of a difference,” Flanders said. “Make sure you are saying no because you don’t want to, not because you don’t know what it is.”

“There’s so much to organ donation besides donation of the main organs people think of,” she said. “Tissue donation is a topic many aren’t aware of, yet it has to potential to save so many lives - burn victims, athletes with torn ACL.”

Looking back on her studies at RV, Flanders said she was surprised by how many students weren’t fully aware of what it means to become an organ donor. She hopes to keep raising awareness and help others figure out if it’s the right choice for them.

“Ensuring there is a conversation about organ donation is so important to me because so often, students I speak to will come up to me after presentations and comment on how they never would have become organ donors on their own,” Flanders explained. “The impact organ donation has on a community - whether it’s the person on the waiting list, their families, or even the families of the donors - is something that opens students’ eyes.”

Online: https://bit.ly/2VACpbq

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Information from: Burlington County Times (Willingboro, N.J.), http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com

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