“It is a sign of gratitude that we owe to donors and their families,” says Pierre Nogrette, director of the Jean Rougier hospital center in Cahors. This Friday, June 28, the hospital inaugurated a place of remembrance for organ and tissue donors as well as their families and loved ones: the sculpture “Gratitudes”, created by Fernando Costa.
“A heart that beats for families”
For several years now, the Cahors hospital has been carrying out organ harvesting and since last year, it has also been carrying out tissue sampling. This year, three patients have already donated their organs and enabled nine transplants. This place of memory, in honor of donors and their loved ones, recommended by law since 2004, testifies to an outpouring of generosity. The association “Les Gardiens de l’Ange” financed the creation of this work and they are proud of it. Manuel Exposito, the president says: “This inauguration combines solidarity, humanity and the promotion of art. »
“I made this sculpture with all the materials provided to me by the hospital. And the idea of forming a heart was to represent the organ, life, donation,” explains Fernando Costa. On the occasion of the inauguration of this place of memory, he justified his artistic choices. He, who worked for free to create this sculpture, is delighted to have been able to contribute to this project. The artist concludes: “This sculpture represents a heart that beats for all the families of the donors.”
