Silent and dressed in black, 18 men and women stood in front of Parks Library on a warm and bright Wednesday, solemnly holding signs as students passed by on their way to class.

The signs said, “18 people die each day waiting for an organ.”

The ISU Public Relations Student Society of America chapter is taking part in the National Organ Donor Awareness Competition, as part of organ donor awareness month.

The focus of the competition, in addition to increasing organ donor awareness, is to promote discussion of donation with family members and to distribute organ donor cards, said Jessi McCool, junior in journalism and mass communication.

“It’s not just enough to sign a donor card,” McCool said. A donor’s family needs to know about the person’s wishes.

Lisa Barrick’s brother died in a motorcycle accident last summer. Before the accident, the family had not discussed organ donation, said Barrick, senior in communication studies, but decided to make a donation in the end.

“We had to think, ‘What would Curt want?'” she said. “I strongly recommend talking to your family about it.”

Barrick said the Iowa Donor Network, which connects donors and recipients in the state, wanted what the family wanted.

“The people from the donor network were very supportive; they weren’t pushy,” Barrick said. “They cleared up a lot of myths.”

Today, there are close to 84,000 people on a national waiting list; however, many people choose not to give for various reasons.

McCool said lack of education may be part of the problem as well.

“What are you going to do with your organs after death?” McCool asked. “You don’t need them.”

Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism and communication, encourages organ donation.

“Donating organs and tissues to those who can use them is a tremendous way to honor someone’s life,” Mack said. “It can be difficult for parents who have just lost a child to make the decision to allow organ donation, so it’s critical students talk to their parents about their wishes.”

There are a number of considerations made before donated organs reach recipients, which means there is an even greater need for many different people to donate.

“I don’t think people realize there are many markers that can make a person more likely to accept a donated organ,” Mack said. “Sex, race and age all play a part in creating the best ‘match’ between a donor and a recipient.”

According to the Iowa Donor Network, almost any organ or tissue can be donated. The partial list includes eyes and corneas, heart, heart valves, vessel or pericardium, carotid arteries, liver, kidneys, pancreas, skin, cartilage and tendons and bone.

As a part of its event, the ISU team also held an event at the Maintenance Shop in the Memorial Union featuring Tom Jorgensen, 2417 White Oak Dr., a liver recipient. The band Eight Miles Out and a standup comedy act starring former ISU tailback Hiawatha Rutland were also on the schedule.