‘I’ve been given a beautiful gift’: Ceremony honors organ and tissue donors, recipients

MAYWOOD, Ill. – An event held Sunday at Loyola University Medical Center honored organ and tissue donors, their families, recipients, and the care teams involved in the donation process.

“It means a lot to me. I’ve been given a beautiful gift,” Michael Bono said. “It’s everything to me.”

Nearly five years ago, Bono received a double lung transplant. The man who saved his life was 54-year-old Scott Schuetz of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“What a fantastic give he gave to Michael, and we’re thankful for Michael to let us be a part of his life and continue on the memory of our son,” Jerry Schuetz said.

This is the second year Jerry and Nancy Schuetz attended the event to honor their son and the way he continues to help through his gift of organ donation. They said Scott was a beloved father and chiropractor who cared about his patients.

“Little did we know that when we had the meeting with the transplant team as a family to decide whether we wanted to give his organs, they came in and told us, your son already made the decision for you,” Jerry said. “All of our family always looks forward to seeing Michael because they can think of Uncle Scott when they see Michael.”

The event, which included a candlelight ceremony, featured testimony from living donors, deceased donor families, recipients, nurses, and a transplant surgeon.

“It just means the world to be here and to meet my transplant family is the greatest gift after that,” Bono said.

It was on Christmas, four-months post-transplant, when he received a letter back from Jerry and Nancy, expressing that they wanted to connect with him. 11 months to the day following his procedure, the families had the opportunity to meet for the first time.

“I feel like I have a new family. It really does,” Bono said.

Jessica Labuda, manager of thoracic transplant with Loyola Medicine, said the event brings with it many mixed emotions.

“It’s a lot of emotion, a lot of sorrow and a lot of joy, just a lot of remembering, and a time of reflection,” Labuda said.

For every donor and their family, the process looks different. Labuda said, depending on the organ and the disease type, it can take from a couple months to a couple years for a transplant recipient to receive a donation.

“It’s a journey that’s different for every individual and there is an army of people to help them go through that together,” Labuda said.

The ceremony, now in its 33^rd year, also serves to educate on the importance of organ and tissue donation. It is held annually during the month of April, which is National Donate Life Month, to raise awareness and education on organ, eye, and tissue donation.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), there are over 104,000 individuals in the United States currently in need of life-saving organ transplants. Last year, there were over 17,000 deceased donor transplants and over 7,000 living donor transplants.

In 2024, Loyola Medicine said it performed 386 transplants, and the Living Donor Program had more than 55 participants. It takes surgeons, experts in nutrition, social work, financial coordination, physical therapy, and psychology to help support patients and donors through the process.

“It’s all it takes is just one “X” mark on your driver’s license and you’ve given someone else the gift to go on and have a second chance at life,” Jenine Bono, Michael’s wife told WGN TV.

To learn more about organ donation and how to register, you can visit the Health and Human Services Administration’s website by clicking here.