New film highlights the impact of organ donation
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now“Driven to Save Lives,” a film that debuted at the 2024 Heartland International Film Festival last week, shares the story of four Indiana families who have been impacted by organ donation, including racer Bryan Clauson.
Clauson died after an on-track accident in 2016. At the hospital, his family learned he had signed up as an organ donor. He saved five lives through organ donation and helped dozens of others through tissue donation.
“When we left the hospital and said our final goodbyes to Bryan, the last thing I said to him is I want to make him proud,” Taylor McLean, Clauson’s sister, said. “I live every day trying to do that.”
Clauson’s family and the Indiana Donor Network launched Driven2Save Lives several years ago to educate race fans about organ and tissue donation. McLean says over 8,000 people have signed up to be a donor through the program.
“I’ve heard so many different stories of people who had a connection to donation but just weren’t really talking about it. I’ve heard stories of loss, stories of grief, stories of hope and healing [and] stories of new life,” McLean said. “We were at a place where we had been in this community for so long that those stories deserve to be told.”
McLean brought the idea for the film to her team at the Indiana Donor Network, where she works, and served as executive director. She tells Inside INdiana Business that working on the film helped her heal and figure out where she was in her grief journey.
McLean hopes the film prompts viewers to think and talk about donation. Last year, the Indiana Donor Network says there were 471 organ donors and 1,394 tissue donors.
“We didn’t talk about donation in our family. We had no idea Bryan had signed up to be an organ donor,” McLean said. “I want people to understand that these are conversations that need to be had, and that good things can come from tragedy, and hope and healing can come from the worst of circumstances.”
Driven to Save Lives is now available to stream through Oct. 20. After that, McLean hopes the film will play at other film festivals and eventually get a distributor.