Organ Donation Takes Spotlight At Ceremony At Temple Hospital

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The month of April is National Donate Life Month -- and on Monday there was a special event to honor that at Temple University Hospital.

They raised a flag at Temple to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. And while still not enough to cover all the patients waiting, there has been an increase. That's attributed, in part, to the drug overdose epidemic.

"He was an incredible child and an incredible human being. He was such a giver."

It was a shocking and devastating loss when Eileen Grugan lost her 33-year-old son Charles to a drug overdose in 2011.

"The opioid addiction is out of control right now and there are so many people dying from overdoses," Grugan said.

That grim reality has created a silver lining. The number of organ donations has also increased.

"I kept saying is he alive and they said no," Grugan said.

Grugan was part of a ceremony Monday at Temple University Hospital to honor National Donate Life Month.

Last year, the number of transplants nationwide increased 20% from 2012, a big part coming from overdose victims who are usually young and often with good organs for donating.

"We had no idea how we were going be able to recover from this terrible loss," Grugan said.

She says knowing that her son saved three lives donating his heart, liver and a kidney has helped her and the family cope.

"We are tremendously grateful that we had the opportunity to be able to do that along side our son," she said.

Even with the increase in donation -- there still aren't enough organ donors.

With Gift of Life encouraging more donors, there's also been an increase in living donations.

Unfortunately, 22 people still die every day waiting for a transplant. Just one donor can save eight people and change the lives of 50 others.