April is donate Life Month and U of L Health says more than 1000 Kentuckians are waiting for a lifesaving organ donation this year to raise awareness of this important need.

The hospital held a ceremony in honor of organ donors and recipients.

We took a moment of silence to remember those who have donated, donated their organs, and also remember those who are the recipients of those organs.

And raise the flag to remember those and just memorialize the importance of a program like this.

My brother was 53 when he unexpectedly passed away from that first call.

We automatically knew that he wanted to be an organ donor.

So what we did is of course, said yes, and they literally took care of everything.

They took care of bringing him back home when it was appropriate.

They took care of communicating to us the next four or five steps that we could expect in the process.

They surrounded us with compassion and care to make sure that we were okay in the process as well.

My brother was the life of the party.

He would give you the shirt off his back.

Even when he didn't have it, he'd figure it out.

And really, in our community, it's a big loss.

And our family, his friends.

We absolutely feel it every day.

So we know and are very happy and why this is such an important mission to us to support.

Because we know that this is amazing and this is I know he's happy that this is happening.

He enhanced the lives of five others through his organ tissue.

And I don't know.

We knew that he would want to help others and we didn't have to worry.

Is that the right decision?

Is it not?

The message that we're trying to get across today is for those who want to donate, to register to donate.

And what's even more important than registering to donate is to make sure you tell your family that you are registered as well, so that your family can know what your wishes are.

If something should happen.

You have ill health.

Says a single organ donor can save up to eight lives.

And they add that it's not just lives.

Donors save.

More than 1000 Kentuckians have had their eyesight restored every year through cornea transplants.