The month of April is National Donate Life Month, raising awareness for organ and tissue donation. In recognition, Lifeline of Ohio hopes to set a Guinness world record during its annual “Candlelight Vigil of Hope, Remembrance and Celebration” event at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, on April 11 — and they need all the help they can get.

The current record is 1,000 candles lit in 15 seconds, but Lifeline thinks they can break it with 1,500 candles shining brightly at the vigil as part of its “shine on” message.

“The vigil is a visual testament to the power of donation and is designed to provide hope to those waiting for a chance to ‘shine on’ with a lifesaving organ transplant, remembrance for those who ‘shine on’ through the gifts they gave as organ and tissue donors, and celebration for transplant recipients who continue to ‘shine on’ with a second chance at life,” a spokesperson for Lifeline said.

Local resident JoAnna Krohn, of West Portsmouth, will speak at the vigil. Krohn lost her son, Wesley Workman, in 2008. Because he was an organ donor, Wesley helped save five lives. Since that day, Krohn has been a local advocate for organ and tissue donation and said she’s honored to be asked to speak at this year’s vigil.

“Of course losing anybody that you love is a tragedy, and it’s hard no matter who the person was. But losing a child is a special set of circumstances. That is your flesh and blood that you created. All of your hopes and dreams for the future lies with that person, and when you lose that, you kind of lose everything. It was a terribly devastating, tragic thing to happen to me, and I was not coping with it well,” Krohn said.

She said she really began to heal when she was contacted by local Lifeline volunteer Pati Dyer, of Sciotoville. Dyer’s grand-daughter, Bridget, received a life-saving heart transplant shortly after she was born.

“She reached out to me and called me and told me ‘thank you’ for raising a son wonderful enough to donate the gift of life. That right there — those words and her reaching out to me, even though her granddaughter didn’t receive Wesley’s heart of course, it made me think what a beautiful thing it actually was when it came full circle,” Krohn said.

She said an organ donor doesn’t just save their recipient’s life, they also save the recipient’s family and friends.

“That gives me comfort. That’s what gets me through the bad times,” Krohn said.

Lifeline is a non-profit organization promoting organ and tissue donation in central and southern Ohio. According to Lifeline, there are more than 106,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list, and 18 people die everyday waiting for a transplant.

The vigil is free and begins at 7 p.m., April 11, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

“We’d like to invite everybody in this area to attend. I know it is in Columbus, but it’s going to be a really good thing. It’s not just for people who have been touched by organ donation. It’s basically for anybody,” Krohn said.

For more information, visit Lifeline of Ohio online at www.lifelineofohio.com.

RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 235, or e-mail rottney@heartlandpublications.com.