25th Donor remembrance event honors Hawai'i’s organ and tissue donors

Donor families release over a hundred butterflies at Legacy of Life Hawaii’s Donor Remembrance Ceremony symbolizing the renewed hope their loved ones gave to the many transplant recipients by consenting to organ and tissue donation.

Honolulu - (April 14, 2018) To celebrate National Donate Life Month, Legacy of Life Hawai'i will hold its 25^th Donor Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday, April 14 at the Ko'olau Ballrooms. The Tonga Sisters will perform a special tribute prior to the butterfly release.

Local singing sensation, The Tonga Sisters, who recently performed on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, will perform a medley of songs to honor Hawai'i’s organ, eye, and tissue donors. The event will conclude with the release of hundreds of monarch butterflies in memory of Hawai'i’s organ, eye, and tissue donors. The butterfly symbolizes hope, rebirth, and emergence from darkness into a new life, much like a family’s experience of grief. The Donor Remembrance Ceremony honors and memorializes local organ, eye, and tissue donors, provides comfort and support to grieving families and gives transplant recipients the opportunity to say ‘mahalo’ for their second chance at life. The annual event falls in line with Legacy of Life Hawai‘i’s mission of honoring and supporting organ donors and their families.

The day will consist of a quilt-pinning ceremony, a musical tribute, reflections of gratitude from transplant recipients, lunch, and a grief support workshop and end with a performance by the Tonga Sisters, followed by the butterfly release. All festivities, workshops, and observances throughout the day are geared to bring honor to the donor heroes and healing to the donor families. To celebrate National Donate Life Month, Legacy of Life Hawai'i will hold its 25^th Donor Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday, April 14 at the Ko'olau Ballrooms. The Tonga Sisters will perform a special tribute prior to the butterfly release. Local singing sensation, The Tonga Sisters, who recently performed on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, will perform a medley of songs to honor Hawai'i’s organ, eye, and tissue donors. The event will conclude with the release of hundreds of monarch butterflies in memory of Hawai'i’s organ, eye, and tissue donors. The butterfly symbolizes hope, rebirth, and emergence from darkness into a new life, much like a family’s experience of grief.

The Donor Remembrance Ceremony honors and memorializes local organ, eye, and tissue donors, provides comfort and support to grieving families and gives transplant recipients the opportunity to say ‘mahalo’ for their second chance at life. The annual event falls in line with Legacy of Life Hawai‘i’s mission of honoring and supporting organ donors and their families. The day will consist of a quilt-pinning ceremony, a musical tribute, reflections of gratitude from transplant recipients, lunch, and a grief support workshop and end with a performance by the Tonga Sisters, followed by the butterfly release. All festivities, workshops, and observances throughout the day are geared to bring honor to the donor heroes and healing to the donor families.

ABOUT LEGACY OF LIFE HAWAI‘I
Legacy of Life Hawai'i is a nonprofit organization and the only organization in Hawai'i federally designated to recover organs and tissue for transplant. Founded in 1987 to serve the people of Hawaii, Legacy of Life Hawai‘i’s mission is to save and enhance lives through recovering organs and tissue for transplant, encourage organ donation through community outreach and education, and honor and support organ donors and their families. Legacy of Life Hawai‘i works closely with our island hospitals to cultivate an understanding in our diverse communities that life is worth giving.