Writing a Letter to the Editor
National Donate Life Month 2013
An effective way to engage your local media around the topic of organ and tissue donation is to
write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Please feel free to use the templates below and
simply fill in the blanks. To write your own letter, follow these guidelines:
1. Keep it short and simple. Most papers have guidelines requiring that Letters to the
Editor are less than a certain number of words. You can generally find out your paper’s
guidelines on the Opinion or Letter’s page, either online or in print. If you don’t see a
guideline, try to get your point across in fewer than 150 words.
2. State your reason for writing. Timeliness is a factor, so you will want to mention that
April is National Donate Life Month.
3. Share your connection with donation. Be sure to include if you are a donor family
member, recipient, or recipient family member.
4. Use a powerful statistic. For example, you may choose to share one or more of the
following statistics or messages:
 More than 3,400 of our neighbors in the Upper Midwest are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant and the national transplant waiting list hold the names
of more than 117,000 people.
 Each day 18 people in the US die while waiting for a transplant because the
organ they need is not available.
 One person can save and heal up to 60 lives through organ and tissue donation.
 Fifty-seven percent of South Dakotans are registered as organ, eye and tissue
donors, providing hope to those waiting for a transplant.
5. Provide a call to action. It’s important for readers to know how to take action once
they’ve been inspired by your letter. A simple call to action is best, such as:
I am hope. Are you? Register to be an organ and tissue donor today at
www.DonateLifeSD.org.
6. Include contact information: your name, address, phone number and email address.
Papers will print your name and city/state, but will use your phone number or email to
confirm that you are the one who wrote and submitted the letter.
Page 2
Writing a Letter to the Editor
National Donate Life Month 2013
Recipient Template
April is National Donate Life Month and in the spirit of giving I encourage all South Dakotans to
register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. This issue has affected me personally; I am one
of the very lucky and grateful individuals alive today because of another person’s generosity.
In [Month/Year] I received the gift of a [organ or tissue] transplant from an amazing donor.
Sadly, there are many people who die while they wait for their transplant simply because the
organ they need is not available.
We all have the power to save lives – up to 60 lives, in fact! You can help provide hope and life
to others by registering to be an organ and tissue donor today at www.DonateLifeSD.org.
Donor Family Member Template
April is National Donate Life Month and in the spirit of giving I encourage all South Dakotans to
register to be an organ, tissue and eye donor. I speak from experience; in [Month/Year] my
[relationship to donor], [first name], died and was able to give the gift of donation to [number]
grateful recipients. We miss [relationship to donor] each day and I am also proud [he/she] was
able to give the gift of life.
We can all learn from the generosity that my [relationship to donor] showed at the end of
[his/her] life. We all have the power to save lives and provide hope to others. Register to be an
organ and tissue donor today at www.DonateLifeSD.org.