[Insert hospital logo]
[Hospital Name] Joins New York Organ Donor Network in Celebrating
National Donate Life Month this April
Every 13 hours someone dies in New York State while waiting for an organ transplant.
Every two and a half hours, a New Yorker’s name is added to the waiting list. The need
for organs in New York is critical.
As part of the continuing effort to raise awareness and get more New Yorkers to sign-up
to be organ donors, [Hospital Name] will mark National Donate Life Month throughout
April by partnering with the New York Organ Donor Network (for the 9th consecutive
year.
The entire month is set aside to raise awareness about the need for organ, tissue and
cornea donors. Multiple programs and events honor the generosity of donors and their
families and commemorate all transplant recipients in the United States.
While 2011 marked the achievement of 100 million designated donors in state donor
registries, the need for organ, eye, and tissue transplants is steadily increasing.
In New York State, with more than 9,600 people waiting for organ transplants, there is a
real crisis. Only 2.7 million New Yorkers or 18 percent of individuals age 18 and over
have signed the donor registry compared with an average of 42% across the United
States.
In order to increase registry enrollments, [Hospital Name] will host various events and
programs during Donate Life Month, including organ donor registry drives. [Hospital
inserts other April events and programs.]
[Quote from hospital CEO or other leadership member about why the hospital is
participating and what it hopes to achieve. Suggestion: “We need to spread the
word that donation changes lives every day.These remarkable changes are made
possible because someone like you made the decision to donate. You too have the
power to donate life. I urge you to act now”.]
Helen Irving, New York Organ Donor Network president and CEO, said she welcomes
the month-long commitment from [Name of Hospital.] “As there are fewer than 300
deceased organ donors in the greater New York metropolitan area each year, we look to
invaluable parternships from our region’s hospitals and transplant centers to encourage
New Yorkers to add their names to the Donate Life Registry. Just one organ donor can
save up to eight lives. That same person can save or improve up to 50 lives through
tissue and eye donation. That’s why we appeal to New Yorkers to register as donors in
April.”
Complementing the efforts of area hospitals, the New York Organ Donor Network will
partner with two leading New York radio stations, Z100 and Power 105. The month-long
campaign will utilize on-air personalities as well as online promotions through social
media, videos, contests, and fun prizes. In addition, donor registry drives will be held
throughout the metro region with community groups, colleges, and the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV). Ninety-five percent of all organ donor registry enrollments occur
at the DMV and so donor family members and transplant recipients will be on site at
several DMV locations sharing their stories.
To register as an organ donor or for more information: Visit
www.SaveLivesNewYork.org.
National Donate Life Month: Originally a weeklong observance, former Health and
Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson officially sanctioned the extension of
the celebration in 2003 to include the entire month of April. Donate Life Month is
traditionally sanctioned by the president of the United States.
[Name of Hospital – Description Template]
New York Organ Donor Network: The New York Organ Donor Network (NYODN) is
the nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the greater
New York Metropolitan area. Established in 1978, NYODN is the second largest OPO in
the United States, serving 13 million people. Working closely with transplant centers and
hospitals, NYODN coordinates organ, eye, and tissue donation for transplant. The
organization educates the public and health care professionals about donation and
transplantation and encourages enrollment in the New York State Donate Life Registry.
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