West Tennessee Healthcare has opened a new art exhibit in Jackson honoring organ and tissue donors, their families and the people whose lives were changed by transplants, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News reported.
The exhibit, called “Life. Love. Legacy.,” held an opening reception Wednesday at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. Guests had the chance to meet donor families, transplant recipients and the artist behind the work, Wanda Stanfill.
The show is built around two main pieces. One is a remembrance and healing gallery of paintings. The other is a “precious gifts” sculpture collection made from recycled materials, which is meant to symbolize renewed purpose, the same way a donated organ or tissue gives new life to someone else.
Stanfill said the families she met along the way inspired the project. “Just witnessing their strength, their resiliency, was inspiring and it motivated me to want to create an art exhibit to bring awareness of the lasting impact of organ and tissue donation,” she said.
The exhibit opens to the public Thursday, Nov. 5, and will stay up through Jan. 31, 2027, at the hospital.
Organizers said they hope the exhibit helps more people understand how much a single donation can matter, and that it leads visitors to think about registering as donors themselves. A single donor can help several patients through organ donation and many more through tissue donation, which is why hospitals and donor groups put so much effort into raising awareness.
Sources: WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News, West Tennessee Healthcare