The Ohio State Medical Center put up a display of nearly 7,000 pinwheels the week of April 19 as part of National Donate Life Month.

Each pinwheel represented an organ transplant that has taken place at the medical center since it began transplanting in 1967.

The display was a cooperative effort with Lifeline of Ohio, an organ procurement organization intended to raise awareness about organ donation.

More than 90 percent of people in Ohio have a positive image of organ donation, but only 52 percent are registered to donate, according to a survey commissioned by Lifeline in 2010.

The difference between these two numbers is a result of lack of awareness and misconceptions about organ donation, said Rachel Lewis, community outreach coordinator for Lifeline.

“We try to overcome those misconceptions with stories about donation,” Lewis said.

Ryan Zinn, an OSU engineer with the Office of Licensing, Technology and Commerce, has one of those stories.

During Zinn’s freshman year of high school, a virus infected his heart.

“A doctor told me, ‘If you don’t get a transplant within six months, you’ll die,'” Zinn said.

Zinn received a transplant after 17 days on the waiting list.

“I was extremely lucky,” he said. “I have had many friends and acquaintances who have died waiting.”

The experience of Zinn’s friends isn’t uncommon. Every day in the U.S., 18 people die waiting for organs, according to Lifeline of Ohio’s website.

Zinn’s heart transplant at the Cleveland Clinic went smoothly.

He went on to set track records at his high school and he graduated as valedictorian.

Since then, Zinn has earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering, participated in two Olympic Torch Relays and been named the outstanding male athlete at the 1998 U.S. Transplant Games.

“I try to live each day to honor my donor family and my donor,” Zinn said.

Talking to others about organ donation is part of that mission for Zinn.

“My family saw an opportunity,” Zinn said. “Transplantation was not a very public item then. As a 15-year-old, I started going to meetings to share my story.”

There’s much more awareness about organ donation today, said Amy Barrett, program director of communication and marketing at the OSU Medical Center.

“We had Donate Life brochures by the pinwheels,” she said. “I filled those brochure holders three times a week.”

Stories such as Zinn’s help reduce misconceptions about organ donation, Lewis said.

The biggest misconception is that medical personnel won’t work as hard to save potential organ donors, she said. That isn’t true.

Only organ procurement organizations such as Lifeline have access to donor registries. Hospitals notify procurement organizations when a patient dies, and those organizations check the registry. If the deceased is a donor, a medical team from a procurement organization takes over.

Also, organ donation is usually anonymous. In Zinn’s case, it was not.

Zinn knew that his donor had been in a traffic accident. There was a traffic accident in Cleveland shortly before he received his transplant.

Based on these facts, Zinn was able to determine that his organ donor was a 20-year-old Reserve Officer Training Corps student from Ohio Wesleyan.

Zinn tried to communicate with his donor’s family.

“We wrote a handful of letters that first year to express our gratitude,” Zinn said. “Unfortunately, we never heard back. Maybe someday I’ll have the opportunity to connect with them, by the grace of God.”

Zinn said he is grateful to the family for finding something positive in such a tragedy.

“Life is so precious,” Zinn said. “The last thing we want to do is waste it.”