UPDATED WITH STORY: Honoring donors, celebrating recipients

Angela Bourg released butterflies Tuesday outside Ochsner St. Mary, a symbol of transformation and hope.
For Bourg, it was more than just a symbol.
“I am powered by the gift of life,” Bourg said.
Bourg, a family practice doctor in New Iberia, was among the organ recipients who gathered Tuesday for the Morgan City hospital’s annual celebration of recipients and donors.
“At the heart of organ donation are families who say yes in the midst of unimaginable loss and families who are given a second chance at life,” said Jennifer Cooley, RN, house supervisor and Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency coordinator at Ochsner St. Mary.
Bourg’s heart transplant came 6-1/2 years ago.
“I went from being the family doctor in New Iberia to being a patient at Ochsner New Orleans after a bumpy Highway 90 ambulance ride that I don’t remember …,” Bourg said.
She woke up in a hospital after a day and a half.
“Everyone was wide-eyed,” Bourg said. “I said, ‘Come on, I’ve got to get back to work.’”
But Bourg learned that her heart had failed. She was placed on the list for a heart donation. After three weeks, she was told to “call your kids. Get them here. It’s going to happen.”
She received the heart of a 21-year-old named Drake. Now Bourg and Drake’s mother work together as advocates for organ donation. The young man had told his mom that “he wanted to make a difference, wanted to leave a legacy.”
Drake’s mother calls Bourg his legacy.
Becky Bilello of Thibodaux had her own legacy story. About the time she was celebrating her 34th anniversary, Bilello learned that she would need a heart transplant.
After five days on the transplant list, she received the heart of a 19-year-old named Nicholas. That was 19 years ago.
“Thank you, Nicholas,” Bilello said. “I pray for you every day.”
Lou Tamporello of Morgan City has helped organize the annual ceremony honoring recipients and donors. Tamporello received liver and kidney transplants 14 years ago.
For the families of potential donors, “it’s a very tough situation to be in, and you have to make some rough decisions,” Tamporello said. “Somebody made that decision for me.”
Transformation has another place in the organ donation story.
The Louisiana Illuminator reported that in 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instituted new standards regarding transplant donations. The Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, which coordinates organ donations and transplants in the state, suddenly found itself near the bottom in the rankings of transplant programs.
LOPA regrouped, partly with technology that increased the time organs can remain viable, but also with training for hospital staffers in how to interact with the families of potential donors.
By 2024, LOPA had raised the number of successful transplants 22% to 883.